The Lightning That Thunders
by Sapphirina
Summary: When her love, Kimblee, died, Naminé thought that part of her life was over. Till he returns...or someone who looks a lot like him and has been looking for her. He proves to be a danger to Naminé and the people closest to her. But is he even human? R
1. Chapter 1: Zolf J Kimblee

**A/N: I didn't know what to call this chapter exactly so sorry for the lack of originality. Anyway, this Fanfic happens a little bit after the last episode of Fullmetal Alchemist. It mainly focuses on my OC and Kimblee in the past and in the present situations which are all Kimblee-related. So, here it is.**

**CHAPTER 1—Zolf J. Kimblee:**

_Almost Four Months Ago . . . _

The lieutenant colonel placed an arm in front of her blue eyes to prevent dust flying into them. That was a small part of the aftermath of an explosion—the building used as the bomb was now in rumbles, burying the people who stood beside it only seconds before. Her eyes tried to see through the thick smoke but it was difficult. Luckily, they caught a glimpse of a hand moving toward her head. She dodged the hand quickly and moved away from the area.

"You're supposed to be dead," she muttered.

"Am I?" The voice belonged to the man walking out of the smoke. He had golden eyes and long dark hair pulled back. His hands containing the alchemic arrays were placed in his pockets. Suddenly one came out and reached for a stone lying on the ground. He picked it up and started tossing it in the air. "Do you even now my name?" Finally there was a glow in his palm and the man threw the rock at her.

The woman snapped her fingers and lightning came right down on the stone from the sky. It shattered into tiny bits of almost nothing. "Don't play games with me, Kimblee."

Kimblee raised his eyebrows in confusion momentarily before it hit him. Then he went back to his usual smirk. "Of course. Naminé Thomson, the Lightning Alchemist. It's been a long time since I've seen you."

He started to approach her, eying her hand cautiously since it was ready to snap. Kimblee had worked with her before during the Ishbalan War. She didn't wear a glove like Roy Mustang. Her alchemic array was tattooed on her back making it harder to stop her in a fight.

Naminé took a step back. "If you come any closer, I'll kill you."

Golden eyes met blue ones. "Try it, babe." There was a clap and the whole street exploded. The lieutenant colonel fell down into the darkness of the sewers.

_

* * *

_

Present . . .

Colonel Thomson had been moved to Central the week before. After King Bradley died, there had been some changes in the government. Archer was being charged of several crimes; the case of the mysterious death of Brigadier General Hughes was at its closing; a new Fuhrer had been selected—Roy Mustang; Edward Elric had left the military unexplained. All these changes in the military didn't bother the new colonel—it were the ones in her life.

Mustang, being a friend, had decided to move her from Southern Headquarters to take her away from the painful memories and get her mind on something else. He even tried to get some of his military buddies to date her (all of them denied). The fuhrer was worried she was slipping into a phase she wouldn't get out of. He knew about her relationship with Zolf J. Kimblee before the Crimson Alchemist was announced dead and the expected baby he had left her. He thought a change of scenery was good for the Lightning Alchemist.

Naminé thought otherwise. Her new office wasn't finished—boxes still were unpacked and things weren't sorted out yet. Plus she was getting asked out too frequently by random people within the military. She hated it. The colonel didn't want a third relationship with someone who was a dog of the military. The first two she could say she was in love with both died during times of war.

Naminé was heading to her office to finish unpacking. When she opened the door, she saw her friends inside putting stuff away. She thought about the situation for a second before walking in. "What are you trying to do?" She asked, looking at them.

Roy, no doubt the head of the plan, looked up from a box with his good eye. "Nothing much. We're just trying to help you out a bit." He had lost his other eye in a fight with Pride and now he wore an eyepatch covering it.

Breida lifted up a box and dropped it on top of the long, wooden desk. Then he started to search through it. "You got a lot of documents to put away by yourself. Fuery and Havoc are trying to set up the cabinet for your things. They're almost done." Without being asked, he started to organize the documents the way he thought she would want it—in alphabetical order.

Her eyes left Breida and watched as Riza went over from across the room to Roy. The lieutenant showed him what appeared to look like a thick, square sheet. But Naminé knew better. It was a picture, one that the fuhrer winced at it. They looked up at her and then back at the photograph. The colonel watched as the fuhrer took the photo and placed it face-down on the desk.

Havoc came up to her. "So, do you want those cabinets in a specific place?" He pointed at the ones Fuery was checking to make sure was secure and sturdy.

Her blue eyes locked with his lit cigarette. "No. Just . . . open a window for me."

He got the hint right away and grinned. "Sorry," he said as he removed the cigarette from between his lips. He dropped the cigarette in an ashtray he had brought with him just incase. "I'll get on that right away."

Naminé shook her head. "It's alright. I'll take care of it myself." She was about to walk over to the windows but the blond caught her by the wrist. The colonel looked back at Havoc surprised. Her mind believed it knew what was going to come out of his mouth. If it was corrected, it would be the fourth time he had asked.

Havoc looked away, thinking about his words. Then he looked back at her. "Are you busy tonight? Because I was thinking we can go have dinner together."

Her wrist slipped out of his grip as she took a step back. "I'm sorry. I'm pretty busy this week." She could have said just that one night but she didn't want to get asked again tomorrow, then the day after that.

Havoc sighed before grinning sheepishly. He had never been turned down so often before by one girl. Usually they crack after the second time. "Of course. I'll get back to work now, Colonel."

"Yeah." She let out a sigh and went back to opening the windows. Naminé opened all three of them and sat on the middle windowsill. She supposed she should be helping them with the room but she wasn't in the mood anymore. Zolf J. Kimblee had come into her mind and he wasn't going to leave anytime soon.

She thought she was going crazy. She kept seeing him everywhere she went, even when she went to sleep. And each time brought memories, some of them pleasant, some of them not. Naminé even thought she was seeing him looking up at her outside. Her heart started to race. He seemed so real, so solid, so alive and she wanted to jump down there to see if it was a figment of her imagination. She bit her lip as thoughts of his physique ran through her head.

A quiet voice asked from behind her, "Are you okay, sir . . . ma'am?"

Naminé turned around to face Fuery and nodded. "Just fine," she managed to grin, although everything wasn't.

* * *

The man saw the woman turn away from the window. She looked so familiar to him but there was no explanation for it. When he looked at her, sometimes memories would play in his head so vividly. They either included her yelling at him, kissing, or sleeping beside her. And to make things worst, he had strong feelings for her.

He had been following her for a week and knew she came to this building every day to work. He even knew where she lived. The guy didn't know if she noticed that he was almost everywhere she went, watching her movements. But he only did so to find out their connection and that could only be accomplished when they came face to face. He headed inside Central Headquarters with that exact intention.

* * *

"Thanks, for helping me," Naminé said as she stacked the last empty box in the corner of her office. It hadn't taken as much time as only one person was doing the job. The extra help added more free time to her schedule to take care of some papers that needed signing. Her eyes wandered to the photo still laying face-down on her desk. She walked over to it but didn't pick it up yet. "You can all leave now . . . except the fuhrer."

Breida raised an eyebrow at the order and glanced back at Riza. "But he's taken . . . " He felt all eyes on him and he wanted to take back what he said instantly. He could see the Lightning Alchemist twitching a bit. "I mean, not like you would want to . . . " He gave up. Breida didn't want to worsen the situation.

Naminé closed her eyes and counted to ten in her head. It was a classic trick for calming down when needed. She took deep breaths with each number. She even added zero to make sure she wouldn't use alchemy against the defenseless guy. "Look," she said calmly, "what I wanted to tell the fuhrer is to stop sending guys to ask me out. I don't need any man. I'm fine by myself."

"Naminé," Roy tried to explain, "maybe you haven't noticed the change in you over the last few weeks, but we have. You're not yourself."

"Oh, you supposed that having another guy in my life will make me forget _him_!" Naminé snapped. "Well I can't just do that! So why don't you all just leave me alone?" To add emphasis to her statement, she pulled out a book from a bookshelf nearby and chucked it in their direction. It missed their heads but almost got Roy's by an inch.

Roy picked it up and looked at the front cover. It was a book on alchemy, detailed in making arrays for different purposes. He began to flip through the pages to see what kind of things were in there. "Tell me this—have you been thinking about human transmutation?"

Naminé didn't bother answering him. Instead she reached for the picture and finally looked at it. It must have been taken by someone Naminé couldn't remember since she was in it with Kimblee. He had his arm around her waist and his lips to her cheek. She was laughing in the photo, one hand on his shoulder. She reminisced how after the picture was taken the way he had then kissed her on the lips roughly and hungrily. Suddenly, she felt like ripping the picture in two but she couldn't. But she took it and place the picture in a drawer of her desk.

"You can all go now," she said loud enough so everyone could hear. The door was opened and closed in a matter of seconds. That made her happy because she was alone and she wanted to cry for the first time in two weeks. Naminé sat in her seat and placed her head on the desk. She sobbed loudly, not thinking about who could have walked in and seen her.

_How can you just go and die?_ She thought as she cried harder. _You said you wanted to marry me. Didn't that mean anything to you_?

Suddenly there was knocking and her head bolted up from the desk. Immediately, she started to wipe away her tears. Then she cleared her throat and said, "Who is it?"

There was no answer but the door to her office opened up. The man she had seen outside the window was now standing in the doorway. He had on black pants and a black button-up shirt. His hair was jet black and worn in the same style as Kimblee's. And his piercing eyes were a dark teal. The guy closed the door behind his back.

Her heart started to pound against her chest as he approached the desk. Naminé got out of the chair. "Who are you?" Her eyes followed as he started to walk around the desk to get to her. Instinctively she started to back away, ready to snap her fingers.

The guy shrugged toward her question and threw aside the chair placed in his way. "The first person I saw called me 'Zolf.' But what would you call me?"

"I don't know." Naminé was still backing up but now for every step back she took, the guy took two steps forward. He was closing the gap and she felt she would die even if he didn't reach her. Then the man finally stopped walking. She did, too but only because she backed up against a wall.

The man looked like Kimblee and she hated that. The same type of eyes, the same smirk, the same physique. Wild ideas were running through her head—ideas he was alive, ideas this was a twin, ideas that he wasn't Kimblee at all but just a lookalike.

He gazed into her irises. "Who are you then?"

"Why do you care?" Suddenly her eyes widen when she saw how closed he had moved in on her. Their bodies were only separated by mere inches. She picked up his scent from where she stood. Even his scent was like Kimblee's.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as his face went to the side of hers. She tried to move away from him but something pierced the wall beside her. Her eyes followed the thing to his shoulder. The connection was made that it was the guy's arm. "You're not human, are you?" She said in a low voice. Naminé felt her mind couldn't think straight. Nothing made sense anymore the way they did ten minutes ago. Instead of thinking how to escape, it was on the man and how could he look so much like someone.

The man ignored her question and wrapped a free arm around her body. "I think I love you," he whispered into her ear.

**A/N: How was that? Not too bad I hope. It should be getting better in later chapters. Leave a review if you like the story so far or if you have any corrections for the chapter. Till later.**


	2. Chapter 2: Homunculus

**A/N: The title of this chapter makes it obvious what he (Kimblee imitation) really is. But I couldn't figure out a title like the chapter before. Maybe next time the chapter title will be more creative. So anyway, here it is.**

**CHAPTER 2—Homunculus:**

"I think I love you."

Naminé turned her head away. She wanted to cry then but forced her tears back again. "You're not serious . . . are you?" Her eyes followed as the arm pulled out of the wall and was normal again. Before she could protest, his arm wrapped around and pulled her closer to him. His eyes were almost hypnotic to Naminé, putting her in trances, making her to follow his orders. Her hands glided on the planes of his chest. "Zolf, I . . . " _What did I just call him? What am I doing?_

The guy looked at her parted lips. He knew her mind and body wasn't cooperating at the time. That was fine with him because he wanted her then and she was vulnerable. The guy took full advantage of the opportunity. He leaned in and kissed her on lips gently at first, but it soon became full of hunger. His tongue begged her lips to part more so he could have access to the sweet recesses of her mouth. They gave in slowly and by the time that happened, he was on her full force. Then he left her mouth and went to her neck to shower it with kisses.

Naminé felt her blue military jacket come off and her shirt getting unbuttoned. "This isn't right. You're not---"

"You called me 'Zolf', didn't you?"

The door to the office opened up and a soldier walked in with some papers in his hand. "Colonel Thomson," he said, "the fuhrer is wondering where . . . " His eyebrows raised in shock at the sight. "What is going---is that the Crimson Alchemist?"

'Zolf' pulled away from Naminé and started to approach the soldier who was backing up. He smirked. "You act as if you see a dead guy." His arm extended in the guy's direction.

"But you died in Lior . . . !" The arm extended all the way through the soldier's abdomen as blood came down in torrents. The arm was pulled out and the soldier collapsed inside the room.

'Zolf' turned around to face Naminé. "I hope you didn't mind that."

"Let me see your right hand."

"Why?" He allowed Naminé to grab it anyway although he wanted to go back to what they were doing before.

She saw _the_ symbol on his palm instead of Kimblee's alchemic arrays. "Ouroborus," Naminé muttered to herself. She looked up into grinning teal eyes. "You're a homunculus." She scolded herself for kissing back in the first place. Naminé knew Kimblee was gone but seeing this guy gave her hope that he survived somehow. She clapped her hands furiously and placed them against the homunculus' chest. It sent a jolt throughout his body, sending him backwards unto the floor. "Now tell me who you really are!" She snapped her fingers and lightning came down at him.

The homunculus moved out of the way and swiped at the colonel with an extended arm. The blow sent her flying over the desk, crashing into the floor. "You thought you could kill me, but it's not that easy." He walked up to the desk with the intentions of attacking her again.

Naminé jumped over it before he could come any closer. Then she tackled him unto the floor but was kicked off into the hallway. She landed against the wall upside down. Her eyes landed on the dead soldier's body and gazed up at the homunculus. She rolled backward (in her case) away from the wall and stood up. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her.

"I'll forgive you for that," a voice whispered into her ear, "just don't try it again."

Naminé elbowed him and was thrown down the hallway for the attack. She landed on her chest hard and the wind was knocked out of her. Her eyes began to tear as she struggled for oxygen.

The homunculus wasn't grinning anymore—he was too pissed off. He closed in on her body and rolled it over. "Do you have to be so stubborn?"

Naminé felt fresh air filled her lungs again and let out her first breath in a minute. Her brown hair was in her face but she could still see 'Zolf' looking down at her. "You're not him."

That sentence didn't phase him. "Yeah, but you kissed me like I was. You may not know it but I remember doing things with you that you enjoyed . . . Naminé." His eyes went to her chest interested at the sight. _I was so close._ Instinctively, the homunculus felt eyes on him and he looked up. He saw Breda and Armstrong down the hallway.

Armstrong's blue eyes narrowed at the homunculus as his pink sparkles sparkled more. "The Crimson Alchemist . . . ? What are you doing to her?"

'Zolf' grinned sadistically. "Nothing that she didn't want. There's a mess that needs to get cleaned up. So why don't you two dogs take care of it?"

Breda looked behind the homunculus and saw a body dressed in the blue military uniform. "A soldier! Is he----?"

The homunculus started laughing. His laugh was cold and loud, ringing through the nearly deserted hallway. Finally he regained his composure. "His life wasn't worth that much . . . And neither is yours."

"What . . . ?" Breda was pinned against the wall down the hallway by the shoulder. Blood seeped through the blue fabric rapidly while Breda gritted his teeth to hold in the screams.

"Breda!" Naminé screamed.

Armstrong took off his military jacket and dropped it unto the floor. "Miss Naminé, get away from that man," he ordered, taking noticed of her incredulous look. "Your alchemy isn't helpful in this situation," he explained. "If you attack him, you'll shock Breda." His eyes finally took notice of the bare hallway and realized there weren't any objects he could transmute to fight the enemy.

"Actually," the homunculus cut in, "I like where she is. And she better stay there, too." To prove his point, his arm made the wound in Breda's shoulder larger, causing the soldier to scream in agony.

Naminé stood up in front of the homunculus reluctantly and removed the hair that had fallen in front of her face. Just like Kimblee had been, he was taller than her by several inches and this fact forced the state alchemist to look up at him. From the corner of her eyes, she saw when the arm retracted back to its original state. Her eyes wandered away from his face to the ground where blood was dripping unto the red carpet, creating dark stains. "Zolf . . . can't you . . . stop?" She asked quietly.

The homunculus looked bored now after he stopped attacking Breda. Taking his blood-free hand, he placed it on top of Naminé's shoulder. "I'll do it for you. But only because I'll see you later." He saw the surprised look on her face and he smirked. He started to casually walk down the hallway away from them.

"Miss Naminé," Armstrong said, getting ready to transmute his jacket, the only thing in the hallway, "get out of the way." He planned to attack the strange guy whose back was turned on them. It was a cheap tactic but very effective in combat.

"Let him go. We should be more worried about Breda." Naminé smiled a little from all the quiet nervousness she felt. _What did he mean he'll 'see me later'?_

_

* * *

_

-FLASHBACK-

The darkness of the sewers wasn't welcoming and neither was the smell. Naminé found herself lying on top of the debris of the former street. The light from the sun shone on her, causing her to squint. Her back hurt and so did her head. So badly that she forgot that she was not alone. She bolted up immediately and started to move into the darkness. Naminé didn't know how ling she had been there or where Kimblee had gone. She found herself wishing he was trapped underneath the rumble.

The farther she walked along the side of the sewer the darker it became. She could make out her surrounding. There were two walkways on either side with a stream of gunk flowing downward. The stream looked thick and some nasty shade of greenish brown. She wanted to reach fresh air so badly.

Naminé stopped walking when she thought she heard a splash next to her. Quickly she spun around, snapped her fingers and a bolt of lightning struck down into the sewage. The flash creating a light and Naminé saw Kimblee in front of her. The temporary light created shadows on his face, making it more menacing that it was. "Bastard!" She snapped her fingers again to strike him.

Kimblee moved out of the way. He clapped his hands and made a grab for her. Naminé did the only thing in her mind and stepped into the stream on impulse. It was thick—whatever it was composed of, it caused walking in the 'stream' to be difficult. Kimblee didn't care as much as her face showed it and walked into the sewage to get her. Naminé wasn't a fool and wouldn't send lightning into water if she was in it. Before she could attack him, Kimblee tackled her into the dirty water.

Naminé's head submerged under the gunk and some it went into her mouth. It tasted awful and she wanted to spit it out but didn't want more coming in. She felt her arms by the side of her head, pinned down by the wrists and some weight on her. At first, Naminé believed he was going to drown. But he pulled her up against his body, still holding her wrists.

"So, what are you going to do to me?" Naminé challenged him.

Kimblee smirked. "I was thinking about blowing you up but that would be too easy."

"Like it was for Romberg?"

He raised an eyebrow in his confusion. "Romberg . . . why would you bring him up?"

"Because you killed him!"

Kimblee almost looked confused for a second, the smirk disappearing off his face.But then it came back. "What difference would it make if I hadn't? All that would have happened is he would marry you. It's not like you were that loyal to him in the first place."

"Shut up!"

"Since when have I listened to you?" He brought her arms together and used one of his hands to hold them together by the wrists. The other hand went underneath the back of her shirt. Finally he believed he found what he was searching for— the transmutation circle on her back. He looked into her eyes to check. He smirked when he saw her pupils dilate from the realization. "What's wrong, babe? You like the idea of me blowing you up piece by piece?"

Naminé heard voices outside, near the opening in the street. It was far from them but they could still hear the military. Kimblee sighed in disappointment and let go of the lieutenant colonel. He stood and looked down at her. "I'll take care of you some other time." The Crimson Alchemist was gone before any military personnel could come down and see Southern Headquarters' Naminé Thomson covered in sewage.

_-END FLASHBACK-_

Naminé had been the hot, bubble-bath for half an hour, thinking about Kimblee. She remembered how she used to think her and Romberg would last until Kimblee proved otherwise in Ishbal. She slid deeper into the tub and started to form bubbles with her mouth. Ishbal had been her first war and she didn't like what she saw or did. None of the other soldiers had either except the few ones who enjoyed the bloodshed. Naminé had promised herself to never allow her children into the military. Involuntarily, she placed her hand on her stomach. She sat in the water a few minutes before grabbing her towel and getting out of the tub. Naminé opened the door and left the bathroom to head to her bedroom.

She was in her silk pajamas and threw herself into the bed. Naminé sighed when she realized (like every night) how empty it was. It didn't feel that way when she used to share it with nobody else. But now it didn't seem right anymore. Reluctant at first, she reached over, pulled open the drawer of her night stand and took out Kimblee's pocket watch. The one she was supposed to give back to him when he came back from Lior. She felt like chucking it across the room more than ever but opened it. He had a picture of them inside, the one she gave to him to keep. Naminé bit her bottom lip before burying her face into the pillow. She needed a cry. The woman was about to when the bedroom door creaked opened . . . and closed.

"I told you I'd see you later, didn't I?"

Naminé forced herself to roll over to see where he was. There were no footsteps to be heard to get an idea of the distance. She saw him right beside the bed staring at her. Without thinking it wouldn't work, she took the pillow and hit him with it several times. She gave up and tossed it at the homunculus. "Why don't you leave me alone? I have nothing to do with you! I didn't even create you!"

"What difference does it make? Weren't you the one who said 'if you love somebody, you should try everything to make that person happy'?" He sat on the bed, expecting an answer from her or some attack. When she didn't give either, he crawled nearer to her. "Well? Isn't it true?"

Naminé looked away. "I rather not say anything." Suddenly, she felt arms wrapped around her in the same way Kimblee used to when she was upset.

"Naminé, I want to make you happy."

She was almost afraid to ask but she managed to say, "How can you?"

His embrace slightly tightened. "Naminé . . . let's spend the night together."

**A/N:** **I hope it was good. To me, it wasn't my best. Sorry if the random flashbacks are annoying or seem out of place. But they'll probably be that way for a while. Sorry if any of the characters are OOC. Besides it's the only way to involve the real Kimblee. Anyway, thanks to kimimaros-angel, IceChick495, Simply Crisis, and Darkfire75 for their reviews. I'm glad you said the last chapter was good.** **Till later.**


	3. Chapter 3: Remembrance of the Dead

**A/N: Sorry for the long chapter. Hope you don't mind reading so much. Maybe the next chapter will be shorter than this. So enjoy this one.**

**CHAPTER 3—Remembrance of the Dead:**

_How could last night happen so easily? I actually believed it was Zolf and made love to that thing. He's not even human!_

It was morning and Naminé had woken up earlier than usual. In the next five minutes she would get dressed and head back to work. An appointment was scheduled for her with the fuhrer the day before but she didn't go. Naminé didn't want to see Mustang. She knew it was about the man holding her that morning. Why else would it be made the same day Breda was injured, a soldier was killed, and a possible attack on her?

The Lightning Alchemist attempted to get out of bed but was held back by the homunculus' arm. She didn't know he had been up for some time, watching her silently. "I need to get ready," she said, her mind set on getting her head cleared.

"To go where?" 'Zolf' asked her.

Naminé hesitated. She didn't want to tell him where she would be but decided it wasn't a good choice. "...to work."

"Can't you tell them you're sick?"

"I have to go." She felt the arm slowly unraveled from her waist and she quickly got out of bed. Naminé ignored the guy's stares for a minute while she searched for her uniform and undergarments. It was when she found everything she needed and had to start getting dress that Naminé found the constant staring annoying. "Can you stop watching me?"

"Why? It's nothing I haven't seen before . . . or felt."

Naminé gave up and left the room to dress. She quickly finished and chose to skip breakfast just to leave the apartment faster. "I'll see you after work," she called to him. Then she picked up her keys on the counter of her kitchen and headed out the door.

* * *

When Naminé entered her spacious office, she saw Mustang sitting in a chair. Their eyes connected for a sec and Naminé knew she couldn't turn back. She slunk into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Good morning, Fuhrer." Any soldier knew it was proper courtesy to salute when in the presence of a superior. The soldier guessed she should have saluted him but didn't feel like it. It was that same attitude that the late Basque Gran couldn't stand about her. She was often scolded for it by her other superiors as well (apparently no improvements were made over the years).

"Good morning, Colonel."

Naminé moved passed Mustang nervously and went to her desk. She pulled out the papers she was supposed to return yesterday and placed them in a large envelope. Then she tossed it at him. "There you go. I'm sorry they're late, sir."

He raised an eyebrow. "Thanks but that's not why I'm here. Naminé, I was supposed to see you yesterday afternoon but you didn't come."

Naminé turned her back on the fuhrer and went to the window to avoid eye contact. "Sir, I forgot. I had other things to take care of." The soldier didn't want to seem rude turning her back on a superior but it made it easier to lie that way.

"Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong told me about yesterday---" she winced at that statement— "and about what had happened. Tell me, what did you sacrifice in your attempt to bring Kimblee back?" Her fists clenched at those words and she swirled around on him like Mustang had expected.

"I didn't do any human transmutations! Why would I when I know the consequences?" She shouldn't have yelled at Roy like that. However, Naminé didn't like that he believed she turned to human transmutation as a solution. Naminé let out a big sigh and opened her desk drawer. She saw the picture she had found yesterday, stared at it for a sec, and closed it back.

"Mustang . . . fuhrer, I shouldn't have yelled at you, sir. I'm sorry."

The fuhrer stood up. "It's fine," he said. He was about to leave but then he stopped. Roy glanced over his right shoulder with his good eye and said, "Naminé, if you're protecting that homunculus, get away before you become attached to it."

It was a warning Naminé didn't know whether to listen to or ignored it. At the time though, she chose to ignore it. The soldier grinned. "I'll see you later, then?"

"Yeah." Fuhrer Mustang left the room and Naminé went back to staring out of the window. Luckily, she didn't see 'Zolf' watching her in return. She let out a sigh and started on some more paperwork.

* * *

Later, going toward noon, Naminé got a knock on her door. She was hesitant at first but said, "Come in." The door opened and she was relieved when she saw it was only Havoc. "Hi," she greeted, putting aside the last finished paper. "You need something?"

Havoc looked away sheepishly. "I was wondering if you weren't busy for lunch. I mean lunch isn't as big a deal as dinner and you are the only girl who is not affected by Mustang in any way. I'll pay for your lunch, too---"

_He's really trying, _she thought to herself. _Maybe . . . just this once. I haven't been out with anyone since Kimblee died anyway. It couldn't really hurt. _"Havoc, I'll go with you . . . to lunch."

He raised his eyebrows when he heard her words, slightly in disbelief. "Uh, you mean it? You really do?" All the other times he had asked her out, she had said no right away. However, that day was different from all the other days. Havoc began to believe there was hope for him after all.

"Yeah. We can go now if it makes you happy."

"Um, okay. There's a café not far from here. It's pretty good."

Naminé got out of her chair and took her office key, placing it into her pocket. Then she approached Havoc, wondering what had she got herself into.

* * *

The date went well to her surprise. Havoc turned out to be really sweet and she thought another date with him would be okay. She left work in good spirits and she was already at her two-bedroom apartment's door. Naminé then searched her pockets for the key and found it. Just when she was about to use it, the door was opened by the homunculus. She smiled a little and walked passed him to get inside.

'Zolf' closed the door. "I've been waiting for you, Naminé. You've been on my mind."

Naminé slowly walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Her eyes followed the homunculus as he went to the kitchen. "How was your day?" She asked. There was no answer and her eyebrows furrowed. Reluctantly, she got up from the couch and entered the kitchen just to bump into the guy. "What's wrong?" She asked, seeing how he looked pissed off.

Without warning, 'Zolf' used his right hand and grabbed Naminé's neck. His eyes lit up as he strangled her, cutting off her oxygen. "You think I don't know what you did today?" He asked her.

"What are you talking about?" Naminé gasped as his squeeze tightened, her face turning slightly red.

His dark teal eyes narrowed. "I saw you today with that guy. Did he fuck you, too?"

_He's crazy,_ she thought_ . . . Psychotic . . . I'm not even his woman, dammit! _She clapped her hands quickly and grabbed the arm. Lightning flew through it, causing the homunculus let go of her neck and back off. Quickly, she snapped her fingers but the homunculus was steady again. He dodged the bolt and his arm extended with the full purpose to go through her head. Naminé saw what it had turned into—a blade-like weapon. She moved her head out of the way as quick as she could. Instead of losing her life, she got a graze on her cheek. Quickly, she snapped her fingers again, paying no attention to the blood trickling down the side of her face. _Was I really going to attempt to bring Zolf back only to replace him with this monster? _

Naminé scrambled agilely and reached for the doorknob. Her hand grabbed the chunk of silver metal and turned it. Then she scurried out the door and into the hallway. Her mind wanted to see where he was but her body closed the door behind her. Without wasting time, she got up on her feet and ran down the hallway to the stairwell. When she got there, the alchemist sprinted down, stumbling a few times over the steps she neglected to run on but didn't fall.

By the time Naminé made it out into the cool night air, she was out of breath. After giving herself twenty seconds to catch her breath, she took off down the pavement as far as she could go without stopping. Eventually, her pace slowed to a walk when she felt she was a safe distance away. Naminé reached a payphone, took out some change out from her pocket, put it in the slot, and dialed a number. The phone rang several times before someone answered.

"Hello?" The person said on the line.

"Hi. This is Naminé . . . You mind if I stay over? I'll explain everything there . . . I promise. See you in twenty minutes . . . Thanks. Bye." The soldier hung up the phone and started to look around her. Nobody was there to be seen. Before anyone could come, Naminé got out of the phone booth and headed in the direction of her friend's house.

* * *

"I can't believe you want to come over so late at night," said a woman as she rested against the counter of her kitchen. She was the one who had answered the phone when Naminé called and the owner of the house they were in.

"Vi, you'll understand when I tell you why," Naminé told her from her a kitchen chair.

Vi had light brown skin and red eyes. Although her features were strong, she was only half Ishbalan; her looks come from her mother. Unlike her mother, she didn't follow her mother's preferred religion and instead used her father's notes on alchemy to practice little tricks.

"Okay," Vi said, "Tell me." She sat by the kitchen table across from Naminé. Her red eyes stared hard at the blue ones of her closest friend.

Naminé took a deep breath. "Remember Kimblee?"

Vi nodded. "The one you slept with, right? The same man who got you pregnant, made you lose your virginity, and possibly did 'everything' with you all in one night?"

Naminé looked sheepishly away, not so sure what she told Vi and her other friend, Mel about that night. Had she really gone into that much detail? She didn't think so but she couldn't remember that well either. "Yeah. He died."

Vi nodded again. "I know that."

"I wanted to bring him back to me."

Vi contemplated a bit before she said, "Why did you use past tense instead of present?"

Naminé looked down at the floor and let out a sigh. She hated explaining personal feelings. Unfortunately, the situation called for it and she decided Vi was a good confidante. "It's because someone else did it before me."

Vi's eyebrows rose at the last statement. "Someone else? Who? I mean, as far as I know, you're the only one who truly loved Kimblee. But . . . the resurrected version of Kimblee is a homunculus, isn't he?"

Naminé nodded solemnly. "He's different from Zolf at times but he can be like him as well . . . like last night. He had this look in his eye like he truly cared about me so I . . . "

" . . .You had sex with him?" Vi wondered why the homunculus was affecting her rational friend in such an unusual way. True, Naminé had been out of it for the last few weeks but to become this desperate for love didn't seem like her. The homunculus must have done something to make Naminé feel the way she did. Was it some sort of hypnosis? "Naminé, did it occur to you it wasn't Kimblee?"

" . . . The morning after."

Vi sighed and rolled eyes. Then she stood up, walked over to the cabinets, and took out two mugs. "I'll make you some hot chocolate with whip cream on top."

"Thanks." Naminé rested her head on the table and closed her eyes, listening to the water boil on the stove. While Vi was thinking how Naminé could do such a thing, Naminé was contemplating where did she go wrong. Maybe it was joining the military in the first place but that's where things started to go up. Then where had it begun to go downhill? Maybe it was Archer's fault for the whole entire thing . . .

_-FLASHBACK-_

Naminé was in the kitchen making dinner for one although Kimblee was there in her apartment. She would have killed him in the last two hours but it was against Archer's orders. The orders were simple----the lieutenant colonel just had to "baby-sit the newly reinstated alchemist and keep him in check." In other words, he would be living in her home until otherwise. She and Archer were on the same rank within the military. In a normal situation, Naminé wouldn't have to listen. However, the higher-ups told Archer that she was under his command because they think she was linked to some 'conspiracy.' To her, it was all bullshit and the real reason was that they didn't like her. But what can she say? Did she really want to be court marshaled?

"What's for dinner?" Kimblee walked into the kitchen and lifted a pot cover. He saw this one had rice but not a lot for the two of them.

"Nothing," she muttered as she took out a plate and dumped whatever was in the pots unto it. She wondered if this was even legit, what she was doing to Kimblee. Archer had said not to attack him but mentioned nothing about killing. If she couldn't attack him, she supposed starvation would do.

Kimblee's golden eyes followed Naminé as she sat by the table and started to eat. "Is this some idea to starve me?" He asked, catching on.

"Of course not," Naminé muttered. "I have no intention to do that. That would be inhumane." Their eyes connected for three seconds before Naminé turned back to her food. _Three days should do it, _she thought. _Three days of this and he'll be out of here. _

The Crimson Alchemist had ideas of his own. He took a clean fork from the dish rack and then sat across from Naminé. Without talking, he took a dumpling off her plate and popped it in his mouth. He took a second one as well, knowing that she had stopped eating to glare at him. When he was about to do it a third time, the fork in his hand shocked him and Kimblee dropped it. The fork clattered unto the table and Naminé gave a faint giggle. Kimblee didn't find that as funny as she did. To get her back, he clapped his hands underneath the table, grabbed the fork he had dropped, and stabbed it into her fish.

Naminé glared at Kimblee as he reached for a newspaper from yesterday and began to read it. Her eyebrow rose at this, not sure why he gave up so easily. Giving up so easily wasn't something in his character----maybe being in Laboratory Five had something to do with his behavior. It made sense when the fork exploded and the food in the plate flew all over, especially in her face. The food that would have gotten Kimblee hit the newspaper instead.

Kimblee folded the newspaper and placed it back where he got it. "What's wrong, babe?"

"Nothing, Kimblee, _dear_," Naminé said as she got up from the table and headed over to the kitchen sink to wash her face off. After doing so, she wiped it dry with a napkin. _That psychotic, bomb-happy idiot, _she thought, glaring at Kimblee who was looking at her like he was innocent. _I'll be in hell for weeks._ She looked back at the Crimson Alchemist sympathetically and reached for the last banana. Then she brought it to the guy and placed it in front of him.

"There. Eat it."

The Crimson Alchemist looked at her suspiciously and then the banana. "What is it? Poison?" Naminé let out a groan, took back the banana, and smashed it in top of his head. The banana mushed its way into his hair, banana skin and all.

Naminé threw her arms into the air. "Happy? We're even."

_-END FLASHBACK-_

She slightly smiled. That had been an entertaining day for her. Kimblee hadn't believed they were even and had chased her around the apartment, eventually pinning her down. Then she had threatened him about how he wouldn't be having any children his lifetime. And when he wouldn't listen, she kneed him in the balls. Obviously, she didn't keep her threat.

"Here's your hot chocolate."

Naminé looked up at the Christmas mug and took it by the handle from Vi's hand. The whip cream was already melting and the added marshmallow was already sizzling in the dark substance. She took a sip from it before placing it on the kitchen table. _I would love to blame this on Archer but it's my fault. I shouldn't have let Zolf go into Lior that day. Not alone at least._ _Why did I let that man to have his way? _

"Okay," Vi said, interrupting Naminé's thoughts. She hadn't taken a taste of her hot chocolate but held the mug as if she was thinking about it. She wasn't though—her mind was on the present predicament. "So, tell me why you needed to come over." Naminé went through the story, skipping the parts that included Havoc and trying to get the main points out. Vi listened intently, waiting for Naminé to finish. When she did, Vi finally took a sip out of her hot chocolate.

"What do you plan on doing tomorrow?" She asked.

Naminé shrugged. "I don't know. I probably stay here all day and the rest of the week, I guess. The homunculus knows where I live and where I work and I'm not ready to run into him yet."

"Not unless he causes mayhem in pursuit to find you?"

"If it comes to that, I'll have to go to him."

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews: HANA-CHAN, kimimaros-angel and Darkfire75. I really appreciate them. For once, I have nothing more to add to my end-of-the-chapter author's note. Till next time.**


	4. Chapter 4: A Woman's Feelings

**A/N: Hah! I told you this chapter would be shorter. This chapter (if the following makes any sense, you'll know what I mean) sets the 'stage' for the one after this. It's like a prologue but not really. You get what I'm saying, right? Anywayz, enjoy this chapter. Oh yeah, I just remembered something. It was supposed to be in th very beginning of the story but I forgot. I'm only putting this once.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. I only earn my own characters, this plot, and of course the homunculus.**

**CHAPTER 4—A Woman's Feelings:**

_-FLASHBACK-_

It was finally toward the end of the first week of his stay that Kimblee had asked Naminé if she wanted to go out. He just 'happened' to have two tickets to see some play he had heard about. The play was about these two people who fall in love although both of them have someone else. Kimblee didn't bother telling Naminé what the play was about—he didn't want Naminé to say no before she could no longer escape before going. When she had found out herself at the theater, she was mad at first but liked the play as it progressed. Then they had dinner afterward and later went for a stroll in the park. By that time it was late out and the stars were in the night sky.

The two of them walked along the path, not too far apart but not too close either. Kimblee was wearing a black blazer with a white shirt underneath and black pants. As they sauntered, his golden eyes traced her figure in the short (not skimpy short), blue evening dress. Not a word had passed between them since they had come to the park. For entertainment, he tried to figure out how she did all those crazy (but pretty) twists with her light brown hair.

Naminé hesitated for a second but finally managed to say something. "Why did you ask me out?"

Kimblee stopped studying her hair and went to her face. She was already looking at him to see if she can figure out what he was thinking. The man shrugged and stared straight ahead. "I thought it would be good to go out for once. We never did before."

"Oh."

" . . . You look beautiful tonight."

"Thanks . . . you look handsome."

"Thanks. Why do you look so nervous?"

Naminé flinched at the question. "Why would I be?" It had been a long time since she'd gone out with any guy, years in fact and it felt like this was her first date again. She tried to remember the rules she had in her head—how many more dates to go until they can get into an actual relationship? Should they kiss on their first date? If they do, how should they kiss? Yep, she admitted it to herself—she _was_ nervous. They stopped talking at that for the next few minutes until Kimblee decided to start a conversation.

"Why did you say yes?"

Naminé sighed and looked at him softly. "I don't know," she replied, shrugging. "Maybe it's the same reason you told me you really never killed Romberg . . . you meant that didn't you?" As if it was some sort of answer, Kimblee's right arm wrapped around her waist and pulled Naminé a little closer to his body. Just like she expected, he had that really nice masculine scent coming off him.

Kimblee looked down at her. "Why would I want to lie to you?"

Naminé smiled at him before she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and they walked that way till they reached the apartment. She wanted to give them time and didn't want to rush things. How much time she had, she didn't know but she wanted to make the most out of it.

_-END FLASHBACK-_

* * *

Vi had decided to call Naminé's job to explain her absence. It must have been noticed because it was after ten o'clock (Naminé arrives an hour before that). She was in the living room on the phone and she had finally been patched into General Hakuro's line. "Hi."

"Who is this?" The general asked.

"Does it really matter? Look: I'm sorry, General Hakuro but Colonel Naminé Thomson can't come in today."

"What do you mean she can't?" The man's voice blasted through the phone. Obviously, he had forgotten this was an anonymous call. Vi pulled it away from her ear before the sound could cause her eardrum to ache.

"She's not feeling well. You would just have to tell the fuhrer that."

"Why can't she speak for herself?"

"Well, sir, she is sleeping and has a fever of a hundred-and-five. Therefore, she can't come to the phone. I, the doctor, called to tell you that. So goodbye!" She slammed the phone down on the hook and folded her arms. "Stubborn man."

Naminé grinned at the flustered Vi from the couch in the living room. "I could have called them myself, you know. Saves the trouble for you."

"Just to be sucked in by that man's voice," Vi muttered. "He's rude and a jackass." The call had turned into an argument with a higher-up of the military. She had told a tiny lie—she wasn't a doctor but a nurse and had been in the field for years. Never had she claimed to be a doctor until that morning. The woman was glad she didn't give her name or he would question her qualifications, maybe even look up her name in a directory. Vi sat next to Naminé and studied her. "Almost seven more months before the baby arrives, huh?"

Naminé tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Then they open again to gaze at the ceiling. "I can't wait till this is over. I've been eating like a pig."

"I hope you're not getting thrown around in fights. That's not good for the baby."

"I'm not," she lied so her friend wouldn't worry about it.

Vi got up and headed for the kitchen. "What do you expect? You're eating for two now. Get up for a second and help me out in the kitchen. I need to make breakfast for . . . the three of us." She smiled at that statement as she opened the fridge and took out the eggs. She placed them on the counter and slammed the refrigerator shut.

Naminé walked into the kitchen and started to search the cabinets. "Where are the pans?"

* * *

While Naminé was helping Vi make their breakfast, 'Zolf' was contemplating in the bedroom about Naminé whereabouts.

_Where the hell did she go in the middle of the night? Maybe to some guy's house but which one? Mustang's, Armstrong's, Breda's? That can't be right._ _Mustang's taken but what had stopped him from stealing other girls before? Armstrong and that Breda guy doesn't have any girls. Then there's the one from yesterday. What was his name? Mayhem? Fiasco? Why the hell do I care?_

The homunculus frowned at those ideas and let out a sigh. He wondered why she didn't come back like he thought she would. Maybe he should have gone after her and brought her back to the apartment. He would have forced her to stay the morning as well. 'Kimblee' wanted her badly just like two days ago in the office. At least then she hadn't taken off.

He decided to check her job. Knowing Naminé as the type of woman who would try to be present for work, it was logical she would be there. The homunculus left the apartment building and headed down to Central Headquarters.

* * *

Naminé nibbled on the bread. She felt nervous about something, like something bad was going to happen. What made it worst was she felt the 'bad thing' was connected with the homunculus. Her mind wondered if he would try to attack someone or kill them on purpose. Maybe someone he believed she was currently with . . . someone like . . . Havoc.

* * *

The homunculus didn't see the person he hoped to run into, the one he had spotted with Naminé the day before. But he did recognize someone Naminé knew. It was that guy with the glasses named Fuery. Before the man could go inside the building, 'Zolf' reached him and pulled him aside. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" The homunculus smirked, not really giving the Master Sergeant a choice.

Sometime later, a gardener carried a basket full of ready-to-plant assorted flowers. Her job. Like all the other gardeners, was to plant the flowers around Central HQ. She had finish her section when she saw blood trails on the wall. Curious about what had happened, she rounded the corner and almost stepped on someone's glasses. She looked straight ahead and saw bloody body. The gardener let out a scream (luckily it was before she fainted).

* * *

The phone in the house rang persistently. Vi hurried over and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Vi?" questioned the person on the other end of the line.

A smile appeared on her face at the sound of the male voice. "Roy? Hey, I haven't seen you in a while . . . You want to talk to Naminé . . . Hold on." Vi covered the receiving end of the phone and waved Naminé impatiently over. Her friend came and she handed the phone over.

The Lightning Alchemist's eyebrows furrowed. The fact that he had Vi's number didn't surprise her much. It was the reason he could have for calling that worried her. " What's wrong?" It was the first thing that came out of her mouth before the fuhrer can say anything. Naminé felt horrible and a bit nervous, her mind already on the imitation of Kimblee. "It's not about Havoc, is it?"

"No. Havoc's fine. It's about Fuery. I'll talk to you later. If you hang around Vi's house a little while longer, I'll come over tonight to get it over with."

"Okay, if you want to." Naminé hung up the phone without saying bye and collapsed into the couch. Apparently, the homunculus would do anything to get his hands on her. Anyone's life didn't matter as long as led back to whom he wanted. She decided to sleep then since the night might not permit much.

* * *

Several hours later, the doorbell rung. Naminé had woken up two hours ago and was reading a romance novel when the sound echoed throughout the house. Her eyes followed Vi as she hurrying by to answer the door. Some seconds later, her friend was walking back to the living with Roy Mustang beside her. They were talking about something, both smiling and that made Naminé wonder how much could happen in a few seconds. Of course though, the smiles were only temporary—their eyes landed on the alchemist waiting for them. Vi went to sit next to Naminé; Roy sat across from them.

"Hey, Roy," Naminé sighed. "If it's about my sick day, I can explain. The Fuery thing, I can't."

"I wish it was about your sick day," Roy said. "It would be a lot less complicated than _your_ problems, wouldn't it? Fuery was told to deliver a message unto you. It was 'stop whoring around and come back home.' I thought it was possibly your mother only . . . "

"She couldn't beat Fuery, or anyone in this matter, into a bloody pulp," Naminé muttered in an attempt to finish Roy's sentence.

Roy nodded and continued. "Fuery's in the hospital now. Broken ribs, a completely shattered arm, a wound in his abdomen as large as a coffee can—no normal human can do this. It's only logical that it's the same guy who attacked Breda. The wounds are similar in shape."

Vi took a glance at her friend, remembering the conversation they had the previous night. "I suppose you'll be leaving in a bit."

Naminé sighed again and mused aloud. "What choice do I have? He's dangerous and we have to give him what he wants. He _injured _Fuery this time, he might kill someone tomorrow, tonight even. Damn this whole thing. Kimblee was never the jealous kind. Probably every guy this homunculus sees I'm with, he thinks me and that guy are together."

"What the hell are you talking?" Vi looked at her friend incredulously. That was one chunk out of the story that Naminé didn't bother telling. In her mind, it explained a lot more about this homunculus than Naminé's slight account. The homunculus was possessive for one thing. Another thing could be that this whole thing was full of lust and desire. She wondered how much of that was true. Her red eyes stared at the cut on Naminé's cheek that seemed to have healed already, already knowing who did it.

Naminé finally answered her question. "He saw me yesterday with Havoc. So he took it the wrong way and presumed that we were . . . 'doing things.' Therefore he attacked me, the homunculus I mean, and I came here."

Mustang looked at his watch. He saw it was a quarter to nine. He had a feeling he would be really late if they didn't wrap this whole thing up. And he didn't want Riza thinking he stood her up. Not willing to take that chance, Roy got on his feet. "The homunculus looks like Kimblee, he has Kimblee's memories but he has his own ideas. This homunculus could kill you if you try anything against him."

Naminé smirked. "Yeah, I'll remember that."

"You're coming to work tomorrow?"

"Don't know. He might not let me. He just might handcuff me to the bed."

Roy raised his eyebrows. "Do you have to sound sarcastic about this?"

* * *

Naminé had left Vi's house and was outside the door that was separating her from the homunculus. Hesitantly, the colonel entered her apartment. It was dark and the blinds were all closed. She thought it was some plot to sneak attack her and that worried her ultimately. She closed the door, shutting herself from any possible help. Cautiously she walked away and into the hallway. Then she halted. "I know you're here!" she yelled into the darkness. "You wanted me, didn't you? Well, here I am!" Suddenly, arms wrapped around her and pulled her back.

"I'm glad you came," the voice drawled into her ear. "I was worried about you."

Naminé turned around and saw the homunculus. Before she could move, the homunculus pinned her against the wall and kissed her on the lips. "I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to hurt you last night." Then he started to trail kisses along her neck.

For once, she didn't know what to say. He looked so much like Kimblee in her eyes. The idea of him doing that to Kain Fuery seemed ludicrous—although she had seen him kill a soldier so easily. Her mind was pointing out all the rationales; her heart was saying otherwise. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around the homunculus.

"Tell me something, Zolf."

"Anything you want."

"Do you remember the Ishbal War?" Naminé thought maybe that had something to do with his behavior.

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter––kimimaros-angel, Synette, and HANA-CHAN. Nothing much happening in this chapter and Kimblee might have been a little bit OOC in the flashback (sorry if you think so, too). Roy probably was, too. Anyway next chapter is all in the past—actually, the next few chapters, at least four in all. So you can expect a lot of Kimblee in those than the previous chapters. The first one of the series should be up next week. Till later.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Ishbal War, Part I

**A/N: Hey! I've been writing ahead so I can now tell you there's only four chapters on the Ishbal War. I'm currently working on Chapter 10 so maybe I can post two chapters next week or the week after if you want. So here is . . .**

**CHAPTER 5—The Ishbal War, Part I:**

Naminé leaped for cover from a barrage of bullets. The other soldiers in the area were doing the same thing to avoid being taken out. She found herself behind some debris of what used to be the wall of a building. The Lightning Alchemist hated war since the first time she entered a fight against some Ishbalans. Her memories, however, didn't recall any firearms being used. She heard footsteps on the dirt before someone jumped over the huge chunk of wall and joined her.Naminé grinned when she saw who it was. "Kimblee, nice to see you."

"Nice to see you, too, babe." His mind was set on bombing that area and any Ishbalans that would happen to run by but the bullets prevented him from doing so. It was then, sitting next to a fellow soldier, that Kimblee decided that help would be nice. His golden eyes glanced over at Naminé. "Hey, can you help me blow up some Ishbalans?"

Her eyebrows rose at the directness of his question. Then she rolled her eyes and peeked around the wall to see if she could move closer to the enemies. She saw a soldier that was running fall down after getting hit repeatedly with bullets. "You're insane," she muttered to him.

In return, he smirked. "You're not the first person who told me." Naminé went back to peering while he went to examining the female's body, trying to take in as much as possible. _The uniform makes her look a lot less curvier that she is, _he thought. Before he could let her know, another soldier joined them—Thaddeus Romberg.

"Those crazy Ishbalans!" He yelled at them as if they could have heard them over the open fire.

Naminé turned around and smiled when she saw it was her boyfriend. Then she pulled him closer and pecked him on the lips. "Hey, Thad."

"Hey, Naminé."

Thaddeus "Thad" Romberg was not an alchemist like his friend and his girlfriend. He was a soldier who could use a firearm, any firearm well but specialized in hand-to-hand combat. He wasn't as muscular as Major Alex Louis Armstrong (Naminé didn't mind) but he had a good physique nonetheless. His eyes were brown and he had mahogany-colored hair which his girlfriend was now running her hand through. Romberg kissed his girlfriend on the lips roughly, not caring if anybody was looking.

The Crimson Alchemist watched them, thinking how pointless it was. They could die together for all he cared. His eyes caught an Ishbalan woman running to safety. He left the two lovebirds and moved quickly. In no time, he already had the woman by the arm. "Hello," he grinned maniacally. "You'll make a great bomb."

Naminé stopped kissing for a sec and turned around to see what Kimblee was up to. Apparently, he was forcing a woman against a building that might be holding other Ishbalans as well. She gritted her teeth and was about to shock him when her eyes caught someone coming into the open field. She saw it was an Ishbalan man holding a rifle, the barrel of the gun pointing in Kimblee's direction. Without hesitation, she moved out from behind the wall and snapped her fingers.

The Crimson Alchemist heard a scream and turned his head away from the woman. He saw a man on the ground, the rifle by his side and Naminé glaring at him. He was almost distracted by this, amused that Naminé had helped him. If the woman hadn't made a sound in her mad scuffle to get away, the Crimson Alchemist would have forgotten her. But she did and Kimblee soon had her by the hair. Swiftly, not giving a damn that he was hurting the lady, he threw her back in front of him. "If you weren't the only one around, we could have had so much fun." The mad bomber then clapped his hands and pushed the woman against the wall. Then he walked away with a sadistic grin as the woman's eyes rolled to the back of her head.

BOOM!

The Ishbalan and the whole building exploded right before Naminé's eyes. Bodies, lots of bodies lied amongst the debris contorted in some way and covered in blood. Her hand slammed over her mouth because she didn't want to scream. Slowly, she took in the damage. _Could have been worst, _she thought, hoping that was a lie. _It could have been more people . . . more families . . . more children . . ._

Romberg raised his eyebrows at the damage and whistled. "Damn," he said, surprised about the damage Kimblee did with one bomb. "Won't Gran like the sight of this . . . Naminé, are you okay?"

She nodded as her eyes followed Kimblee who was now approaching the unconscious Ishbalan. Kimblee reached the body and then dragged it away from the doorway until it was against the building. Then the Crimson Alchemist clapped his and performed the same trick he did to the lady.

BOOM!

The whole building blew up and pieces of it that had flew into the air was now coming back down to earth again. One piece was going to crush the oblivious Naminé. Kimblee saw this and tackled her out of the way. They landed into the ground and it was more painful Naminé because of the way she of his weight on top of her body.

"We're even," he muttered, still lying on top of her.

"You're heavy." Naminé had a feeling the way they were positioned was just wrong. She knew that Kimblee had his legs on either side of hers and that his head was resting on her chest. What made it worst was her boyfriend was probably just staring, wondering when they would separate which they hadn't yet. The truth was she felt too tired to be moving now but she should have because a shadow was over them both. "Colonel," Naminé said in a surprised voice.

"What?" Kimblee looked up and saw Gran glaring down on them. At once, he got off Naminé and helped her up onto her feet. He saw the building where most of the enemy fire was coming from had stopped. That could explain why they didn't get killed like they would have. "We're done here, Colonel."

Gran narrowed his eyes at the soldiers. "When we're handling your assignment, you two we're lying on the ground with one another!" Naminé winced at how wrong that sounded but he didn't notice. Colonel Gran found someone else to yell at. "And you!" He walked passed the subordinates to get to Romberg who was finally coming out into the open. "What were you doing?"

"I had their backs, sir," Romberg said, unsure of the answer himself. He grinned when he saw Naminé attempting to stifle her giggles.

"What's so funny?" Gran's voice boomed.

"Nothing, sir," Romberg said, not wanting to upset his superior. He wanted to leave the area as soon as possible, maybe get a bite or two to eat. Anything was better than dealing with Colonel Basque Gran.

* * *

"Kimblee," Romberg was saying as he took a bite out of a sandwich, "if you're so lonely, why don't you get back with Sonia?"

"Who the hell said I was lonely?"

They had already gotten back to camp two hours ago and they were now eating dinner. Later, the state alchemists would go into Ishbal to see if they liberated one area properly. Romberg wouldn't be there but other guys would be. He hoped Naminé could handle herself pretty well in that situation and none would try to hit on his girlfriend.

Romberg sighed. "No one. You just seem to be hitting on girls who are already taken."

Naminé who was sitting next to her boyfriend raised an eyebrow at his suggestion. She loved Romberg and she had said it to him at least a dozen times. Why was he considering that she was possibly cheating on him, she did not know. It pissed her off though yet she calmly listened to their conversation.

The Crimson Alchemist raised his eyebrows. "I don't want Naminé," he said, ignoring the fact that she was there.

"I didn't say you want her."

"You hinted it."

"I'm just saying you need someone to entertain you. Sonia did a good job of that."

"It was just a physical thing between us. It got boring after a while."

"Okay then. How about . . ." Romberg looked around and spotted a female officer speaking with the Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang. She looked happy to be talking to him but before she could be infatuated, maybe his friend could still get her. "That one over there?"

Kimblee looked to see who Romberg was talking about. His golden eyes saw the brunette flirting with the major. "I don't know. Her figure's okay."

"Her bust isn't that bad either, and that ass---Ow!" Naminé had smacked him on the back and it had hurt a lot. Romberg had forgotten that she was there the entire time. He watched her walk away and sighed, not understanding what he did wrong really. Certainly she looked at other men despite the fact she has one. Sometimes, he couldn't understand what goes through the mind of a woman nonetheless his girlfriend's.

Another female officer came to join them. "Hey, boys." Her name was Isabelle Stonewall. She was a first lieutenant and worked under Tim Marcoh. Her hair was a platinum blonde and her eyes were emerald. Isabelle sat next to Kimblee and crossed her legs. "So, why did your girlfriend take off like that, Thad?" Her green eyes went over to Romberg, waiting for a response.

"Jealousy," the Crimson Alchemist explained. "The dumb ass was checking out other girls in front of her."

Isabelle giggled. "Kimblee, you're the dumb ass for getting caught this afternoon. Now the military is wondering how Naminé is playing two boys at once. Or at least the soldiers who saw you anyway."

Golden eyes shifted in Romberg's direction and saw the incredulous expression on his face. "I tackled her because I was saving her from death."

Thad didn't believe that was all it was. "Then how long does it take to get off my girlfriend? Until you're done feeling her up and down?"

Isabelle sighed. Her intuition hinted this may have happened. Kimblee was denying it now but she knew that he wanted Naminé. They had always flirted with each other before Thad asked Naminé out. After that, they (the two alchemists) had restricted themselves to a platonic friendship. Now after Thad and Naminé had been in a relationship for a year, Kimblee was slowly making moves on her. Isabelle nodded to herself that whole thing was going to end in disaster if Naminé does anything wrong and Romberg finds out.

Kimblee didn't bother arguing this time since no point was in it. Instead, he got up from the table (much to Isabelle's dismay) and said, "I have to go." Before Romberg could comment on that as well, he left.

* * *

Later that night, Basque Gran led the state alchemists into Ishbal, giving directions the whole way. "I selected the ten of you because I know you can handle yourselves," he explained. "I don't want any casualties on our side. If any rebels appear, you have my permission to kill them. We can split into groups—we'll cover more ground that way." Then he looked over his shoulder to see the arrangements of the group just incase he didn't approve of one. His eyes rested on the Crimson Alchemist and the Lightning Alchemist. "You're not going together."

Kimblee looked up and grinned. "We're not. I'm going alone."

* * *

After they split into groups, Kimblee met with Naminé as they had planned. She was waiting by the destroyed buildings like he had told her. Her military jacket was off during the cool night and her light blue shirt was tight on her form. "Hey, babe."

Naminé looked up and saw Kimblee gazing at her. "Hey," she said with a smile, unsure why she felt happy. Her eyes studied him as he walked to her. It wasn't long before the distance was closed between them. She felt her face turning red so she faced another direction. "Let's start checking out the area. You know, before Gran arrives and says we're doing nothing again."

They started to walk down the road, looking around the area. The two of them didn't see the point in any of this—the area appeared deserted. Until a ball rolled out into the open and an Ishbalan child came right after it. His small hands were about to grip the ball when he saw the blue uniforms. After seeing the military personnel, he didn't move or try to run away.

"So, there are more of them in the area," Kimblee smirked. He moved in, his mind set on blowing the kid. He might even get lucky and more Ishbalans would run out only to get blown up one by one. When Kimblee was about to turn the kid into a bomb, Naminé spoke.

"He's only a child. He didn't do anything."

"That's the problem with soldiers like you," Kimblee said and clapped his hands anyway. "You just don't get it. You let them live and eventually they come back to kill you. They always do."

"I'll kill you if you blow him up," she threatened, her voice coming out cold.

Kimblee stopped moving and started to think the situation over. He sighed. "Fine. I won't." He had a feeling Naminé was watching as he approached the petrified kid. He picked up the ball and handed it over to the kid. "Here," he said grimly. The kid looked at him before running off, the ball in his hands. The Crimson Alchemist looked at Naminé. "You're happy?" Zolf asked.

"I guess . . . but what about the ball?"

The smirk was back on his face again. "What about it?"

BOOM!

It was some distance away but they could still hear the screams. Naminé was about to snap her fingers at Kimblee out of rage but he was faster. His fingers laced between hers and pinned her against a nearby wall.

"You said you wouldn't!"

The Crimson Alchemist smirked. "Did you really believe that?" She didn't say anything after the sentence and she didn't bother struggling out of the pin. Instead, she glared at him because he had killed a kid and who knew how many others. Despite the glare Naminé was giving him, Kimblee continued. "What difference does it make anyway? They were bound to die. If I didn't kill them, Gran would or even that Armstrong guy. I was just doing them a favor so they wouldn't have to wait anymore."

"Oh, and I suppose that makes it right? Don't think that bullshit will make me honestly believe you!" Her voice had come back to argue with him again. Naminé didn't believe in this genocide the fuhrer was leading the military into. It was just too extreme. Nevertheless, there always have to be the few who trust their leader's judgement without question no matter how wrong it seems.

"You don't have to. Just follow orders like a good dog . . . I don't want them calling you some traitor of the state." Kimblee didn't know why he had added that but that statement seemed to help Naminé become a little bit calmer than she was seconds ago. Trusting her, he gave her back control of her hands and was pleased to see that she didn't attack him. His eyes concentrated now on the smoke raising into the air. "You hear those screams?"

" . . . I've heard them since the explosion." Although that was true, the screams seemed louder than they were minutes ago and it would make sense for the Crimson Alchemist to notice.

"Well, they're a lot louder now. Gran and his men are probably there. Want to go see what's going on?" He had that maniac grin on his face because he knew what he wanted to do once he got there and he was sure Gran wouldn't mind.

She looked at Kimblee serenely although she was still hurting inside a bit. "Let's go. The colonel probably wants us there anyway." What surprised Naminé that night was when Kimblee's arm wrapped around her shoulders reassuringly and led her to where the action was taking place as if he knew she might turn away from the reality of war.

**A/N: One down and three more to post. About this chapter, I may have exaggerated on Kimblee's alchemic powers. But in Episode 15 (I think), he can destroy many buildings all at once with the red stone. The name Thaddeus came from this character named Thaddeus Beaumont in The Dark Half by Stephen King. Good book, too. Anyway thanks to Evil Palm Tree Envy, Synette, kimimaros-angel, and crimson-nightwind for reviewing my story. Till later.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Ishbal War, Part II

**A/N: Yeah, I'm back with a new chapter----a long, new chapter. So far, I've kept my commitment of posting one new chapter each week which I'm glad. Chapter 11 is done and I have finally started Chapter 12. Probably why I'm so ahead is that I have nothing else to do but I should be doing my summer reading. So far one books have all these words I don't understand (which I gave up reading) and the other is okay. Well enough babbling for me and you can go on to reading. **

**CHAPTER 6—The Ishbal Massacre, Part II:**

Morning came a lot faster than expected for the state alchemists that went into Ishbal the night before. Kimblee was praised for 'discovering' where some Ishbalan rebels were hiding and the state alchemists, on Gran's orders, checked the area for any more of them. They found at least three dozen of them in the area. It had been a long night for them all. So when their tents were opened and the sunlight came pouring in on their faces, they were all pissed, some more than others. Like Naminé, for instance.

"Naminé, you need to wake up."

"Leave me alone." The soldier pulled the sheets over her head only to have them yanked away. She opened her blue eyes and saw her boyfriend smiling at her. "Give me five minutes." Then she tried to grab the covers back but Thad wouldn't let her.

"You have to get ready," he insisted as he tried to pull the covers away for good.

Naminé let go of the covers, causing the guy to stumble backward and took the pillow to put it over her head instead. After she did that, she closed her eyes to sleep again. Dreaming was almost in reach but then she heard a second voice. "Thad, you're doing it all wrong."

Naminé felt the pillow pulled away from her. When she about to retaliate, ice cold water came pouring down on her head. Once it hit her, she let out a scream. That (the water) was enough to wake her up and to see Isabelle holding a red bucket. She got out of the bed, her hair soaking wet and started to reluctantly look for her uniform. She stopped to glare at her boyfriend. "Thad, can you leave the tent?" Her boyfriend nodded and left. Then Naminé glared at her friend. "You didn't have to do that," she muttered dryly.

Isabelle grinned. "Come on. It's the fastest way to get anyone out of bed. You should have seen Kimblee when I did it to him. I thought he was going to blow _me_ up for second." Her eyes followed Naminé taking a scissors in one hand and her pants in the other. She watched Naminé cut the pants to make them into shorts. "You're kidding, right?" she checked, surprise how short it was when she was done.

"It's too hot outside. I was sweating in my uniform yesterday."

"Gran's going to scold you about this one. The guys would be looking at you instead of working."

"They can go ahead for all I care." Naminé was in her uniform in about five minutes and was now working on her wet hair. She thought about it, took a barrette from one of her bags and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. "My hair feels so heavy."

"It'll dry . . . You're not wearing the jacket either? You're going to have your belly button out?" Her green eyes gazed at the midriff.

"My stomach's flat enough to pull it off."

The tent opened up and Romberg stuck his head through. He was about to say something when his eyes caught Naminé's outfit. His eyebrow raised in question and then he commented. "Naminé, don't you think that's too revealing? I mean, there are mostly guys here and they might, you know, get ideas."

His girlfriend's right eye started to twitch. "What are you trying to say, Thad?"

"You look like a whore," said someone else from outside. She recognized the voice and knew that Kimblee had answered her question.

Romberg sighed. "That's not what I meant. Naminé, what I'm saying is that most guys . . . usually don't do things with other guys. Some can wait until they get home. Others—"

The Crimson Alchemist interrupted again. They were taking too long in the tent as it was and if Romberg kept taking forever to explain things, they wouldn't get anywhere. So he said, "Others get horny so they drag women from the enemy's side and rape them. And if they can't get one, they might go look for the most whorish looking woman on their side who won't squeal. Do you now get the picture, babe? Hurry up and change to what your boyfriend wants so we can go already. I've waited long enough."

With a roll of the eyes, Naminé reached for a new pair of pants and glared at Romberg to give her some privacy again. After his head went back outside, she quickly put on longer pants and came out of the tent with Isabelle. Her boyfriend eyed her top but didn't say anything about it. If he had, Naminé would have punched him in the stomach and yelled at him for being insecure about himself. In her mind, that what it had been for some time now. Those insecurities about her hanging around other men. He should trust her and know that in a year-long relationship, it wasn't a good thing to be assuming stuff.

"Are we going now?" Kimblee asked impatiently.

Naminé turned and glared at the Crimson Alchemist. "With all the Ishbalans you killed, I'm pretty sure there's still plenty there for you to blow up." She ignored the dirty look Kimblee gave her and turned toward Isabelle. "Do you know where we're going to?"

"Yeah," Isabelle responded. "A colonel pointed it out yesterday."

* * *

When the four of them got there, soldiers were already patrolling throughout the area. The soldiers all had guns out like they were going into battle but the firearms were merely for protection. The Ishbalans didn't have any weapons that were up-to-date but they could still be lethal . . . until put against a state alchemist. Then it would be another story.

Isabelle, not in the fighting mood, wanted to ask Naminé for some advice on a topic. However, she decided the guys should leave and look for something else to do. When she told the boys that, they had an incredulous look on their faces but left eventually, Kimblee saying something about the girls would just be in the way. After they left, Isabelle turned toward Naminé and said, "Let's walk for a bit."

The two women started to walk the destroyed streets of Ishbal instead of going toward the center of the city. They walked silently, surveying the damage and the bodies that lied around. This was where three dozen people were found, five destroyed by Kimblee's bomb, the others killed by the state alchemists who got there.

"I heard that Kimblee discovered this hideout," Isabelle said, breaking the silence.

Naminé acted like it didn't matter to her and spoke casually. "Yeah. He did."

" . . . Do you still like him? It's been a while but sometimes things remain over time."

Naminé's eyebrow rose at the question. "You mean Kimblee?" When Isabelle nodded, she started to blush slightly before shrugging as if she didn't have an answer. "Why?"

Isabelle shrugged also. "I don't know. I think I like him or something . . . What did you like besides looks?"

The Lightning Alchemist thought about that for a couple of seconds before answering. The things she came up with made up for Kimblee's faults, taking away some of the anger she had for him. "His body's okay and . . . he can be funny at times. Kimblee can be really sweet, too, when he feels like it . . ." At something in her mind, she started to giggle like a high school girl. She kicked a rock as they continued walking. "I used to think about how it would be when I finally kissed him."

Her friend's eyebrows raised at this. "I had no ideas that it had turned into fantasies. But that's all over, right?"

" . . . Yep."

"So, since we are on the topic about guys within the military, what do you think about that Roy Mustang guy?"

Naminé turned around and started to walk backward. She wanted to see eye-to-eye since she was ahead a little. "My honest opinion . . . he's sexy." The two of them giggled despite the dead bodies around them. Their giggles didn't fit with the overall tone of the situation the soldiers were in. However, for once their minds, Naminé's in particularly, was off the war, Gran's orders and the day before.

Isabelle calmed down first. "I can't believe you said that and you're the one with a boyfriend."

Naminé shrugged, still grinning. "It's okay. Romberg looks at other girls and comments on them even in front of me. It's no big deal . . . !" The female officers stopped walking and looked at each other. After seeing the look on each other's faces, they knew that the other had heard the sound as well. It sounded something like whispering and crying plus it was nearby. Both started to follow the sounds cautiously toward the debris. When they got close enough, they found the source—a little boy hugging a smaller girl who was apparently the sister. The girl had more bruises than the boy and they looked a lot more severe, too. She was the one who was crying; the boy was doing the whispering. The children didn't notice the two soldiers looking at them.

Naminé left Isabelle (who didn't want to move in any closer) and headed toward the kids. "Hey, it's not safe here."

The boy looked startled and stared at her with his red irises. At first they had a startled look in them but that soon darkened into one of hate and anger. "Leave us alone! We haven't done anything!" He hugged his little sister more protectively as if it would do any good for her. The boy could be no older than nine.

The Lightning Alchemist got a little closer and got down on one knee. "You're right," she said soothingly. "You haven't done anything. Your sister must be hurt pretty badly, huh?"

The boy narrowed his eyes. "Don't touch her," he said quietly. His sister, who was about five years old, started sobbing harder. Scratches and bruises were all over her small body, none of them fully healed.

"I know you don't trust people like me," Naminé started, "but those wounds can get infected with germs and she could die from it. You don't have to believe me but you can see it later." Despite the soothing quality her voice had maintained, that menacing quality in it was heard.

He considered that for a moment, not sure why a soldier would want to help them when they were killing his people. The lady seemed kind but that was a way to hurt them more easily. Then again . . . "I'll let you help. But if you kill her, I'll—"

"I won't." She turned and faced Isabelle. "Do you have a first aid kit with you or something?" Isabelle didn't say anything but instead took one out a pouch she had been carrying. Naminé took it from her and opened it. When she found the ointment, she started to disinfect the wounds on the little girl's small body. Then she started to bandage them. She even had time to start working on the older brother.

The boy looked innocently at her, grateful that she hadn't hurt his little sister like she had said. "You have very kind eyes, ma'am."

She smiled. "Thanks but don't call me 'ma'am'. I'm not that old."

Isabelle watched intently. The Lightning Alchemist had a notorious record of not truly following orders but what would Gran say about this? Treason? Off with her head? The alchemist was too intent on the boy's wounds to hear the footsteps approaching but Isabelle wasn't. She turned to see who was coming toward them. The soldier relaxed when she saw it was just Romberg and Kimblee. "Hey guys!"

Naminé had just finished with the boy when she heard that greeting. She looked up and saw Romberg and Kimblee coming, both in full view of the children and vice versa. Her blue eyes took full noticed that the Crimson Alchemist was ahead of her boyfriend and seemed to be moving a lot quicker toward them. He muttered a 'hey' to Isabelle as he passed her and approached Naminé.

His golden eyes stared at the first aid kit. "What are you doing?"

_That's obvious, _she thought but decided to get smart with him. "Nothing." She then stood up and started to approach him, not allowing his distance to the children decrease any more. They looked at each other, waiting to see what the other was going to do. If they did fight, no one would come to stop them––Isabelle and Romberg did not like to mess with alchemy and no non-achelmist would intervene as well.

Kimblee eyed the children before looking at Naminé. "Can you move for a second?"

Naminé took a step closer, so she was in striking range. "Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, you might 'accidently' go boom ."

Her blue eyes narrowed at him before the Lightning Alchemist clapped her hands and gave Kimblee a shove. A jolt shot through him as he fell backward on the ground. She smirked and bent over the guy with her hands on her knees. "Aren't you going to blow me up now?" He got back on his feet and she started to back away. He looked pissed off which was, in a way, good in her case because he no longer wanted to make the children into bombs. The hardest thing now was she just needed to evade him long enough not to get killed. Before he could grab her, Naminé took off into the debris and Kimblee went after her, forgetting the kids he was planning on blowing up.

* * *

The area was a maze with all the debris and abandoned buildings around. Alchemy wasn't too much of an option because she didn't want to attract his attention and light up a sign saying "Here I am!" much less get turned into a human bomb. Naminé was hiding behind a chunk of wall that was partially destroyed. It was the best hiding place for now but for how long?

* * *

Meanwhile, the Crimson Alchemist was wondering where she could have gone so fast. For a woman, she had a lot of nerve and he didn't like that. It made her act so stubborn. He wanted to grab her and try to keep his threat but that wouldn't happen if he didn't change his tactic. Running around in a large area would only allow her to escape; getting her to show where she was would be less effort. He stopped walking and projected his voice. "I'm sorry. I feel bad for everything I've done and all the lives I've taken. For once in your damn life, you're right."

Naminé didn't believe a word and acted on impulse. She yelled, despite how close his voice sounded, "Do you really think I'm that stupid to believe you?" Already too late, her hand clamped over her mouth and cursed herself, knowing that was what he expected her to do.

Kimblee started to follow the general direction her voice had came from. "No. But you're stupid enough to let me find you."

The Lightning Alchemist let out a groan and stood in the open, admitting that he would have found her anyway. Kimblee was a lot closer than she had thought he was—less than ten feet separated them. Their eyes connected with each other's before the movements started. The Crimson Alchemist was running toward her; Naminé was backing up, her arm outstretched, ready to snap. She hesitated, not wanting to kill her own comrade and that cost her. Kimblee had her by the wrist, a sadistic grin already on his face. Knowing what would happen, her fingers snapped together and lightning came down. The jolt wasn't powerful enough to knock him out because she didn't want to knock herself out. Nonetheless, she had felt the shock as well, realizing how it sucked to be hit with her own attack. The only good thing that came out of this was that Kimblee had released her arm. When that happened, Naminé took off again.

Running away was not something she liked doing partly because it was cowardly to her. But there wasn't any real choice except getting blown to bits. She hid in the alley between two buildings to catch her breath. Maybe he would find her, maybe not. To her, nothing can be definite about that guy. Naminé heard an explosion about fifteen yards away. That was okay for now because it seemed like it was at random since another explosion happened. Five minutes lapsed and still no Kimblee. Was he waiting for her to walk out into the open? He probably was and she wouldn't let that happen so easily. Her ears picked up footsteps from behind and before checking to see who it was, she snapped her fingers on impulse.

* * *

Kimblee didn't know where she had wandered off to. He didn't know how fast she could run either. When he was just about to give up the chase and go meet up with Thad and Isabelle, lightning struck down between two buildings. He grinned and started to move in, plotting a sneak attack.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" Gran growled, narrowly dodging the lightning bolt.

Naminé crossed her arms and started to look around herself instead of giving a salute. "Sorry, _Colonel_, but I didn't know it was you. I thought it was somebody else."

That wasn't a good explanation for the Gran. Her reason only deepened his frown and made his eyes stare at her coldly. "You had strict orders to come out to the city's center! What is here that you find so amusing? Are you hiding the enemy in these buildings?" His eyes watched the soldier shake her head no. This major had always been a pain in the ass for him and he preferred not to be the one who dealt with her. It turned out she had to be working under him in this war. In his mind, she was incompetent and had been a waste of space on the battlefield. Showed no respect either especially to him and didn't bother hiding her arrogance. He was about to yell at Major Thomson again when the wall exploded next to them and smoke clouded his vision temporarily.

The Crimson Alchemist walked out of the giant hole in building he created. Kimblee's eyes were already on Naminé and he didn't noticed Gran's presence. He clapped his hands and started to walk toward the female who was backing up. He laughed, thinking she wouldn't escape him this time and their game of cat-and-mouse had came to the end. "I got you now, you stupid—!"

"Kimblee!"

The major swirled around and saw the colonel glaring at him. "Colonel?" Shit. He knew he was in trouble. Maybe it wasn't too bad but still Gran had his way of handling things.

**A/N: Those two always get into something, huh? Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter I felt that this one turned out sort of crappy. The next two chapters will be posted next week! The only reason that I didn't post up two this week because Chapter 7 and 8 go together pretty well in my opinion. Besides all that, thanks for the reviews last chapter: Darkfire75, Synette, CorvusCaminus, and kimimaros-angel.** **Also, I might change the rating to M to be on the safe side. I'm not entirely sure. Till later.**


	7. Chapter 7: The Ishbal War, Part III

**A/N: Wow. So far, so good. I'm passed the twenty-review mark I made for myself because that's the most reviews I got out of most my stories I wrote (those included on FictionPress, too). Anyway, thanks to Synette, CorvusCaminus, and kimimaros-angel for the reviews .**

**CHAPTER 7—The Ishbal War, Part III:**

His way didn't happen until two days after the incident. Gran had thought long and hard about it and came up with a reasonable punishment for the two alchemists. They would head into unexplored regions of Ishbal at night and try to find where the rest of the rebels were hiding. If they came back the next morning, they could tell all about what they found out. If not, well too bad for them really.

Although the sun had gone elsewhere, it was still a hot night. Kimblee had left his military jacket and was wearing a white sleeveless shirt. Naminé was wearing a tank top, her military jacket unbuttoned and the shorts she had wanted to wear before (she had argued with Romberg that only Kimblee would be there). Despite what how badly she had wanted to wear it, she didn't like the way her 'buddy' kept passing glances in her direction. When his golden eyes glanced at her again, she snapped.

"What are you looking at?"

Kimblee smirked and decided he could say whatever was on his mind, no matter how perverted. After all, it was just the two alchemists and there was no Romberg to stop him. "You have a nice pair of legs," he commented, his eyes on her again.

She was pissed off but didn't want to show it. "I'm glad you like them," she said, although she felt like giving the guy a good kick.

His eyes didn't leave her because he was still checking her out. He saw how red she was becoming and that she had folded her arms across her chest. Kimblee had expected something like that. Because of this, he wanted to tease her some more and I always loved you out of uniform. That's the only time any guy can see the curves you got."

Her face read disbelief first, anger second. "Why are you so freakin' perverted?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. But at least I'm being honest about how I feel."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you actually love Romberg?"

Her mouth opened and stayed that way awhile before a sound could to come out of it. "Of course I love him."

"Since when?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Several feet separated them now, she falling behind. Naminé had not been keeping up with Kimblee since the beginning of this weird conversation. The greater the distance, the better it was for them in her mind. A sigh escaped her lips when Naminé saw that the man had stopped walking, waiting for her to catch up. When they were side by side again, they moved on. There wasn't much time to waste—they both wanted to get back to camp so they could catch enough sleep.

They reached where they were supposed to be, which was the western part of Ishbal. The area wasn't handled yet or have been entered until now. It looked empty but it probably wasn't and the two alchemists felt that as well. That was why they continued to walk deeper into the unknown area where anyone could effortlessly ambush them. Maybe they were all sleeping because it was late out. Then they (Kimblee and Naminé) could ambush them or avoid contact.

"So what are we looking for?" Naminé asked, hoping the Crimson Alchemist had some idea.

"I don't know," he replied. "Some sign of life I guess. Maybe some Ishbalans that are hiding in the abandon buildings around us." When she didn't comment, Kimblee looked over at Naminé and saw what most of her attention was on. There was a building lit by candles perhaps and no doubt they were people who didn't believe soldiers would be around this late at night.

"How many do you think there are?" Naminé started to approach the building and Kimblee followed her.

"Maybe a dozen." The alchemists reached a window and peeked inside. They could see eight men from their position, probably more in the corners of the room. The two would have left if Gran hadn't said to go in if they found a rebellion gathering. Blue eyes met golden eyes for a 'ready-to-go' signal. Kimblee nodded and they crawled in through the doorway.

"Ew," Naminé whispered. "The floor's wet." Her hand had landed in the water and created a soft splash. Luckily, none of the Ishbalans had heard it. She looked back at Kimblee.

"Probably some busted pipe," Kimblee explained. He examined the room their enemies were in and saw that the floor was also wet. _Or maybe a flood, _he thought, changing his mind.

"You wanna split up?" she suddenly asked, nodding toward the staircase.

The Crimson Alchemist nodded. "Take care of yourself down here and don't die." Still, on all fours, he made his way up the stairs. He would have been in full view of the Ishbalans if their backs weren't turned. The steps creaked with each advancement but no one seemed to notice. He made it to the second floor, still in clear view of Naminé. Then he nodded, stood, and started to walk out of her sight.

Naminé waited for a sign from Kimblee while eavesdropping on the Ishbalans. They were talking about some ideas to ambush the surrounding military camps. Nothing big really that could threaten them. So Naminé found the whole conversation boring and that Kimblee was taking too long upstairs. She headed toward the stairs and was about to climb up when she heard a sound. Naminé turned around, saw an Ishbalan holding a gun and almost instantly a bullet ripped its way through her right shoulder. Blood spewed out of the wound and she collapsed backward into the stairs from the force. Upset voices came from the room and then she was surrounded by at least ten of them.

BOOM!

The sound came from upstairs and Naminé winced. Who else could it be other than the Crimson Alchemist?

* * *

Kimblee was coming back down because he had heard a gunshot. Only some guy had got in the way and had tried to kill him with a gun. That was a faulty move on his part because he was gone now. When he was on the landing, he saw Naminé clutching her bleeding shoulder. Then his golden eyes saw a gun pointing upward at him. The gun fired and Kimblee moved out of the way. The way he fell appeared as if he had been hit, causing the Ishbalans to leave him alone.

* * *

"Kimblee!" Her blue eyes were wide seeing Kimblee fall down like that and immediately thought he was shot. Naminé kicked the gun out of the guy's hand and got on her feet. Then without thinking, she snapped her fingers. Lightning struck down on one guy and the man received the jolt, but the others around him started to shake as well. Then she felt the jolt surging its way through her body and blacked out but not before feeling arms around her body.

* * *

The Crimson Alchemist had left the building sometime ago and was now carrying Naminé on his back. She was unconscious from her own alchemy. Apparently she hadn't paid much attention to where she had been standing. Her shoulder was still bleeding freely and he had to take care of that before it could get any worse. He could already feel the blood seeping through the back of his shirt and how much she had lost was still unknown. Finally, the woman began to stir after ten minutes of sleeping.

"Hey, you're all right?" He asked her.

Her blue eyes opened slightly and saw it was Kimblee giving her a piggyback ride. Without thinking, she snuggled against his neck. "My whole body aches."

"That's what happens to idiots when they do something stupid." The alchemist was surprised she didn't retort something back at him. Maybe she was really tired and weak. The lightning bolt hadn't been one of her normal ones made out of some gentle nature, the ones that never killed the intended target. It had enough voltage to kill the Ishabalan it had struck, causing a burning smell to rise from the body. The others had suffered the same fate as Naminé- unconscious. Though they had been lucky, he had taken the liberty to kill them. He didn't need revenge-seekers after him.

Naminé noticed the color red seeping through the white fabric of his shirt. "You're bleeding."

" . . . I'm not." He found a building that was still boarded up and found a way to get inside. There was no light coming from this one and no furniture was inside. Everything about the place symbolized abandonment. Kimblee rested her body against the wall and took off her military jacket to get a better look at the wound. Blood was still flowing out and Kimblee started to shred her military jacket. The material didn't tear right away but once it did, the rest of it was easier. His golden eyes glanced at the wound then to Naminé's face. She looked like she was in her own little world. "Do you mind if I take off your shirt for a second?"

The word 'off' and 'shirt' registered in her mind and she stared at him."How long is a second?"

"Ten minutes at the most."

" . . . I'll take it off myself." Romberg came into her mind as a reminder of what she was doing but that didn't stop Naminé. In the condition she was in, she doubted that she could take care of her own injury. Naminé grimaced from the pain as she lifted her tank over her head and dropped it on the floor. Her body squirmed a bit at his touch and her right bra strap slipped off her shoulder with his help. Naminé's blue eyes looked at Kimblee who was staring at her chest. "Don't you think about it," she muttered.

The Crimson Alchemist looked up at her. "I won't touch you . . . unless you want me to." She shook her too quickly and he smirked, knowing the thoughts that were running through here mind weren't so innocent.

He took one ripped piece of blue cloth and applied it to her wound with pressure. It was saturated almost immediately and he used up several in attempts to stop the bleeding. Another two were used to clean the wound in front and behind where the bullet had exited. The longer shredded pieces of cloth was used as bandages. He wrapped them around her shoulder, covering the wound the best he could. During the entire process, his mind had retreated to his old fantasies he used to have about her.

When he was done, hormones got the better of him and Kimblee grabbed her one of her breasts without a second thought. Surprisingly, instead of retaliating, she gasped at the unexpected grope. Kimblee let out a smirk as his fingers traced the contours of her chest. Wondering what kind of sound she could make, his fingers played tauntingly at the brim of her bra as his imagination took over. _Fuck Romberg, _he thought as his fingers finally started to slip under the bra. _He doesn't even deserve her. _Before he could do anything more, Naminé slapped him across the face. Kimblee was shocked by her action as he pulled his hand away from her.

Naminé's face was bright red. She had almost lost it for a second, almost allowing Kimblee to do whatever he had in his mind. A part of her was not willing to prove Romberg right. What was the rest of her saying? She didn't know, wasn't so eager to find out. Quickly, she slipped her bra strap back on and grabbed her tank top. That went over her head fast and was back on as well. Her eyes were on him as he leaned against the same wall, a few feet between them. At least it was better than their previous position.

His golden eyes looked at the Lightning Alchemist with interest. Naminé didn't say anything bit just stared at the wall ahead of her. Five minutes passed and not one word had been said. The silence between them seemed unnatural so Kimblee asked her something. It was probably dumb one in their situation but he wanted his mind off the woman's anatomy. "Why did you join the military in the first place if you hate killing?"

She arched an eyebrow at his curiosity and the sudden interest in her personnel life. Surprisingly, she didn't mind telling him. After all, it was just a way to pass the time. "To get away from home for a while," Naminé answered.

"You got problems with your family?"

Her blue eyes stared directly into his golden ones. "Not really. Just with my mom. She thinks it's my fault that my father died. I guess it is, in some sense. I could have saved him if I've thought about it a lot sooner."

"Thought about what?"

"Alchemy. I first created lightning that day. I saved me, my little sister Kaili, and Vi but I couldn't save him."

"What happened?" Kimblee knew the basics of the story but not the small details.

Naminé frowned at that question and sighed. "I don't really feel like talking about myself anymore. Tell me something about you. Like how you became an alchemist." All this talking about herself was making her feel more depressed than she was before. Her head and body continued to ache but to a lesser extent now. She supposed listening wasn't out of the question since he had listened to her.

Kimblee smirked as his memories flooded back. "I got interested in bombs. I studied them. Found out how they work, what they're made of. Then I practiced."

The Lightning Alchemist stared at him. "On what?"

His smirk turned into a maniac grin. "Forks, stones, rats—"

"Rats?"

"Why?" He muttered sarcastically. "You protect them, too?" His eyebrows raised when he saw Naminé's turned her face away from him. She knew he was talking about those little kids two days ago. Sighing, he moved closer to Naminé and closed the gap.

She heard the advancements and she looked to her right. Kimblee was only few inches away from her and that was when her heart started pounding. Then his arm came around her waist. A blush reached her cheeks again and she pulled away from his body. "You know that I'm with Thad," she stated.

"And I still want you."

" 'Want' and 'need' aren't really the same thing."

"Explain."

" 'Want' is when you . . . it's just different."

His golden eyes stared hard at her. "So you think I don't care about you?" There was no answer. He thought about it, then kissed her on the cheek. She hitched a little when his lips then touched her neck. His arm wrapped around her again. "Do you still like me?"

"I . . . "

"You can be honest for once," Kimblee told her and then smirking, trailed kisses going down, smarter this time to steer clear of her bust. He pulled away for a second to see the look on her face.

" . . . yeah." Instantly, Naminé felt guilty for saying those words to him. She had a boyfriend and to do this to him would be wrong, even if he doesn't find out. That last thought melted when he tilted her head to look at him and brushed his lips against hers. Then they kissed. It was short and it was more like a test to see how it was. The rest of her, the part that didn't care about whether Romberg was right or wrong, liked the way it felt. " . . . If he finds out about this, I'll kill you," she whispered, not believing whatever had just left her mouth.

Kimblee brought her closer to his body. "How often have you said that and never did?" With a grin, Naminé laced her arms around his neck and they kissed a second time, nothing holding them back.

Her friends Vi and Mel both said that cheating was bad. Yet Mel did it most of the time. Vi had asked her why and she had said because the next guy was always better than the last. The Lightning Alchemist wondered if that could be the case in her life. Could mad bomber Kimblee be better than insecure Romberg? Probably that wasn't too true. Hadn't Mel also said she cheated to get what she didn't have? Naminé didn't get a chance to answer that question because he had just slipped his tongue into her mouth.

Her shoulder was already throbbing but it would become worst in the next few minutes. Of course, her shoulder was the least of her worries in the days to come.

**A/N: Cheating is a bad thing but it happens. Anyway, if you want, you can** **stop reading here, leave a comment, and read Chapter 8 later. But if you love long reads, then click the arrow that points to the right below.**


	8. Chapter 8: The Ishbal War, Part IV

**A/N: What can I say? Just enjoy this chapter.**

**CHAPTER 8–-The Ishbal War, Part IV:**

_I cheated, I cheated, I cheated. And the bastard let it happen . . . no, I let it happened. I could have said no but I didn't. I'm such an idiot._

It was already morning and Naminé had woken up first of the two. Her head rested against Kimblee's chest, his heartbeat in her ear. She was still wrapped in his arms and her arms were around him but Romberg decided to stop by in her mind. The guilt could finally set in after the pleasure had ended. They only made out which was a good thing to her. It was better than going all the way with the guy.

"Naminé?" The Crimson Alchemist had just awoken because Naminé had shifted her body against his. Last night came back in a flood—the feel of her skin, the taste of her lips, her gentle caress on his cheek. Although her body had ached, she had managed to make it enjoyable for him.

Her eyes looked up at him. "Zolf . . . Hey." She gave him a peck on the lips and got off him immediately, untangling their limbs from one another's.

"How's your shoulder?" He asked, getting unto his two feet.

She touched and winced from the pain. "It's better. I guess we should head back to camp." She was about to walk out but Kimblee pulled her back to him by the wrist.

"Not yet," he said, gently pushing her against the wall. "Not when we're still alone."

"Zolf, we—" Naminé wanted to say how gran would be expecting their arrival anytime soon but his kiss cut her off. As an automatic response, her fingers started to intertwine with his long hair. Her body made up her mind as the kiss deepened. Gran hadn't really told them to come back at a specific time. They didn't have to go back right away.

* * *

Later, most of the soldiers went to that part of Ishbal under Gran's command. The rest stayed back to either protect the camp incase of invaders or they were injured. Isabelle, Kimblee, and Romberg had left with the group while Naminé was getting the proper treatment for her bullet wound. She was in a tent where a female doctor was taking care of her so she didn't mind taking off her shirt. Naminé glanced at a picture of a little girl with blonde hair.

"That's your daughter?"

The doctor looked up to see which picture the soldier was talking about. She was searching for bandages to redo Naminé's wound properly. "Yeah, she is." She found what she was looking for and went back to Naminé. Then she started to take off the blue cloths.

The tent opened up and Roy walked in, carrying someone in his arms. The person he was carrying was Isabelle (who was beaming). Naminé smiled shyly at him, wanting to pull back on her shirt.

"Sorry for the interruption, Dr. Rockbell," Roy said. "This soldier twisted her ankle." His dark eyes wandered over to the Lightning Alchemist who was sitting on a bed. "Hey."

"Hi," Naminé smiled and gave him a little wave. She didn't really acknowledged Isabelle's presence since her full attention was given to Roy. He gave her that trademark smirk and she stifled her giggles. Her eyes followed him as he placed Isabelle on another bed. Mustang tossed a sly look at Naminé before leaving.

"Hi," Isabelle imitated, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"It's not that big of a deal." Naminé rolled her shoulder in a circular motion after Dr. Rockbell finished with it. It was done a lot better than Kimblee's handiwork and neater, too. She didn't leave yet because she was going to help her friend to her tent. The doctor finished with Isabelle in fifteen minutes and Naminé went over to help Isabelle. The alchemist wrapped her arm around her shoulders; her friend followed suit. Soon, they reached her tent and Isabelle lied on her bed.

"You're going into Ishbal later?"

Naminé shook her head. "I want to go rest. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Why? Kimblee kept you up all night?" Isabelle had said it as a joke, oblivious to the look on her friend's face.

"No," Naminé choked. "I've got to go." To avoid any further interrogation, she left the tent quickly. Outside was hot and she was already sweating in the unbearable heat. Kimblee's body was hot, too and Naminé remembered how it ha felt. She walked into her tent and closed her eyes, replaying last night in her head. Kimblee had beaten Romberg in all the physical aspects and that was bad. It would only fuel the need to cheat more. Her eyes opened and rested on an envelope that was on her bed.

* * *

"You're leaving?" Romberg grabbed the letter from Naminé's hand and started to skim through it. Isabelle and Kimblee looked at the Lightning Alchemist, disbelief etched on their faces. "Why?" Romberg couldn't believe Naminé was leaving the war. They would be separated for some time and this made him worried.

"My mother's sick," Naminé explained as she took a sip from her glass of water. "The fuhrer said that family is important and that I can go." The food had went from okay during the last few days. The fact that the soldiers were hungry made it easier for it to stay in their stomachs.

Kimblee reached for the letter from Romberg and started to read, Isabelle peering at it over his shoulder. His hand went to rest on her hip (Naminé felt a tinge of jealousy as she eyed the two). "I thought you hated your mom," he muttered.

"You never told me that," Thad pointed out.

Naminé winced. "Well, I do. The only reason I'm going is for my sister's sake. She loves my mother, my mother loves her. Therefore she feels sad and miserable that 'dear' mommy is in the hospital. After all, Kaili is only ten."

Isabelle pouted. "You're lucky. I'll be stuck with these idiots the next several days."

"The war won't last that long," Kimblee said. "I'll give it two days at the most."

Eyebrows rose at the statement but it was Naminé that asked the question that was running through everyone's minds. "Why would you say that?"

Before answering, Kimblee tasted his chicken and grimaced at the taste. But he took another morsel anyway because he was that hungry. "I heard rumors that the Crystal Alchemist is making something that amplifies our alchemic powers."

Naminé watched as Isabelle rested her head on his shoulder and embraced him. Despite her efforts, she did find herself slightly envious as she sat next to her boyfriend. "The Crystal Alchemist?"

Isabelle looked at the Lightning Alchemist, pulling her eyes from the letter. "Tim Marcoh. I work under him part time."

"He's bringing it in tomorrow.," Kimblee continued. "You probably would have tried it out but you're ditching the military for your _mother_." The Crimson Alchemist wondered if she would be busy that night. Maybe he could catch her when Romberg wasn't around. It would be easier to say his goodbyes.

"When are you leaving?" Isabelle asked, handing the letter back.

The Lightning Alchemist placed it back into its original envelope. "Tomorrow afternoon."

* * *

Later that night, Naminé was talking to the girls who shared the tent with her. There were three of them altogether and they were all in the same age group. They were telling each other stories and when Naminé was going to tell one, the tent flap open. It was Kimblee. "Don't you have any manners?" She snapped at him.

"Sorry, babe. But I need to talk to you."

Naminé got up from her bed and walked over to him. Kimblee took her outside into the cool night and led her to a place out of view. There was no need to tell why he had taken her outside because she already knew. Without a word passing between them, they kissed each other. It wasn't long before she gave Kimblee permission to play with her tongue. His embrace around her body tightened as the kiss only deepened. She let a moan escape when he added more force. Finally, the air in their lungs ran out and they separated, none of them satisfied that it had ended so soon.

Naminé looked at Kimblee. "What did you want to tell me?"

"I won't see you tomorrow morning before you leave. But I'll see you back in Southern Headquarters in a few days though." He pecked her on the cheek, the least affectionate thing he'd done to her since she started cheating.

She dwelled on the fact, happy that she would have time to think about her own feelings. After Naminé was done contemplating to herself, her hand patted the side of his face playfully. "Okay, then. I'll see you in a few days."

* * *

She did get to see him in a few days. It was somewhere she didn't expect the confrontation to be-–prison. Romberg died and how it happened was still unknown. Kimblee got a death sentence for killing (blowing up really) his own allies and was presumed to be done on purpose. Life couldn't be worst than it already was for her. Two guys she did, or was developing, feelings for had been snatched away from her. Naminé felt as if her heart had been ripped out and came back just for it to happen again.

The guard that was leading her to Kimblee's cell stopped and pulled out a set of keys. The man searched through them before choosing one and using it to open the door. He looked at Naminé. "Here you go, miss." She walked inside and the door closed behind her.

The man was sitting on a bed in the cell when he heard the door open and closed. There was a creaking sound as somebody sat next to him on the bed. He turned and grinned when he saw it was Naminé. "So you came to see me before I die. How considerate."

Her blue eyes gazed at the board that handcuffed his hands in a way and prevented him from clapping. "I heard what you did," she said in a monotone voice. "Pretty stupid if you ask me."

"To hear all those people scream, to see them all explode—it was worth it." When she didn't say anything, he glanced at her, seeing that she was focusing on the wall before her. He wanted to embrace her, to tell her not to worry about it, but the board was preventing him from doing so.

Almost like the alternative to the situation, she crawled behind Kimblee and wrapped her arms around him, her chin on his shoulder. Then Naminé kissed him on the cheek. "You really are a mad bomber." If there was a way, she would get him out of this. One dead guy was hard enough. Two? The alchemist didn't think she could cope so easily. Naminé would have been able to if she had known she would see Zolf years later.

Her arms slipped away from his body and she got off the bed. Naminé took one final look at him and decided she couldn't leave it at that. She held the tears back longer and kissed him. He kissed back just as passionately as he felt her fingers playing with his ponytail. Half a minute passed before she stopped and stood up straight. She tried to smile but it didn't look genuine. "If you weren't an idiot, then maybe we could have been. Well, this is goodbye . . . Zolf." Tears were on the brim of her eyes now and she turned away from him. She tried to walk out of the cell with some control but she moved faster than she wanted to.

Kimblee watched her leave and the door closed on him again. He sighed and lied down on the bed, his golden eyes focusing on the ceiling. " . . . Goodbye, Naminé."

**A/N:** **I couldn't find a better way to end this chapter but it seems okay. Next week it will be only one chapter posted. That's it for now. Till later.**


	9. Chapter 9: Chrysanthemums and Kimblee

**A/N: Again I couldn't come up with a better title but I guess it makes sense for this chapter because of the ending this time. This chapter turned out to be so long but it was worth it for once. I hope that you enjoy this one.**

**CHAPTER 9—Chrysanthemums . . . and Kimblee:**

"Do you remember the Ishbal War?" She asked.

The homunculus raised his eyebrows at Naminé's question. "Why does it matter?"

Naminé looked away and thought about what had happened in Ishbal for a second before her eyes went on the homunculus. "I figured that it had something to do with this whole jealousy thing you have. I know I cheated back then but I'm not the sort of girl to cheat now." If everything Roy had said was true so far, then it would have all of Kimblee's memories. She folded her arms and sighed, waiting to see what the homunculus was going to do next. What he did next surprise her.

The homunculus lifted up her shirt just so her stomach could show. Then he took the hand that had the Ouroborus on the palm and placed it against her slight bulge. A smirk played on his lips as his hand moved about her stomach. "I can't wait till you give birth to this thing." His dark teal eyes locked with Naminé's. "You want to sleep now?" She nodded. Unexpectedly, she was swept off her feet and into his arms. He carried Naminé to her bedroom and placed her on the bed.

"I can't sleep in this outfit," Naminé mused aloud, talking about the military uniform she was wearing. She was about to get off the bed to change when he got on top of her. His weight was enough to hold her down.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Just take it off."

Naminé started to blush and turned her head away from his gaze. "I'm not going to have sex with you again." She flinched at the touch of his wet lips against her exposed neck. Her body squirmed when he started to work the military jacket off her shoulder.

"Why not? We just did it a few nights ago."

"But you're not Zolf!" She expected a slap across the face or something for yelling at him but she didn't get any retaliation against her. Instead she felt all the weight shifted to her legs. Her eyes saw he was sitting on them, his eyes on her, and a big grin on his face, all his pointy teeth showing. That what worried her—his grin.

"Oh, so you just realized that, babe? Or has it been eating at you for sometime now?" The homunculus patted her cheek playfully as she used to do to Kimblee when he was alive. "It was just a couple of days ago you begged me to touch you, to kiss you, to make love to you. But, if you now think differently, I guess that means you can kill me now, doesn't it?" He then got off her completely and left the room without an explanation.

In the time he was gone, Naminé changed into her pajamas before climbing back into bed. If that all it took for the man to stop, then why hadn't she done it sooner since day one? Maybe because he was right in some sense that she had wanted it. While she was contemplating, the homunculus came back in and threw a knife on the bed. It wasn't aimed to kill the alchemist because that wasn't what he wanted. Naminé picked it up and looked at him.

He approached her and stood by the side of the bed, still grinning. "Go ahead. Kill me."

There was no hesitation in her movement of driving the knife into where any human heart would be. The homunculus fell on the floor automatically, blood soaking his shirt. She didn't care about the mess it made and decided she'll clean it in the morning because it was over. At least that how it appeared. Naminé rolled toward the wall and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she was rolled onto her back and she saw the homunculus holding the knife. Before she could fight, the blade was pressing tauntingly against her neck.

He was still grinning maniacally. "You see, babe, I don't die so easily. But I can't say the same about you. If I just slit your neck open, you'll die. Stab you in the heart, you'll die. Funny how mortal you are, huh?" His teal eyes glared at her, the grin slowly disappearing when he saw the dirty look Naminé was giving him. After saying that, he laid the knife on the night stand and crawled over her body toward the side of the bed that was empty. Then he got underneath the bed sheets and wrapped an arm around her. "I won't force myself unto you, Naminé. I know you'll come to me on your own." That was what scared Naminé the most, the chance that he might be right.

* * *

The Lightning Alchemist woke up at seven o'clock the next day and had more than enough time to eat, get ready, and walk to headquarters. She looked back at the homunculus who was sleeping next to her. Taking his arm off her, Naminé got out of bed and started to look around for her uniform. She found a blue skirt and a white blouse. After making sure the homunculus was still sleeping, she pulled out her military jacket and started to get dress. She finished in five minutes and left the room.

The fridge opened and closed after she got the bread out. While the bread was getting heated in the toaster, she ate a banana. Then Naminé walked over to the toaster, threw out the banana skin into the garbage, and took the slice of bread to put it in her mouth. The bread dangled from her teeth as she went over to the cupboard and took out a glass. After taking the orange juice from the refrigerator, she poured some. Her breakfast lasted ten minutes. She put the glass in the sink and put the OJ where it belonged. Picking up her romance novel to keep her entertained before work, Naminé headed to the door. Suddenly a voice spoke from behind her.

"You're going to work?"

_Don't know. He might not let me. He might just handcuff me to the bed. _The soldier turned around to face the homunculus. His eyes were on her completely as he stood in the doorway of her bedroom, a good twenty feet away. "Yeah." There was no point in lying now. "It's required for a colonel to come to headquarters on time."

"You called in sick yesterday, didn't you? You can do it again."

_He's dangerous and we have to give him what he wants. _Naminé kicked off her shoes and looked at the clock on the wall. There was still over an hour before she would have to work. So she took off her military jacket and threw it on the couch. "I can't do that . . . Why don't we make out instead?" When those words left her mouth, she wanted to take them back because of the look in his eyes. Despite everything she had said the night before, Naminé knew it was the only way she could avoid her own bloodshed and harm to her unborn child.

* * *

"This is a surprise," Roy commented when Naminé walked into his office. "I thought you might be handcuffed to a bed. And you're early for once, too." It was eight-forty-five according to the clock, meaning there was only fifteen minutes before she had to work. So Naminé decided to spend it with the others, all there except Fuery.

"Well, good morning everyone," Naminé said. Everyone else said hello to her.

"You're feeling better, colonel?" Havoc asked, the usual cigarette in his mouth. He had heard about her being sick from the general's screams and complaints through the door to the fuhrer's office the day before.

"A lot," Naminé smiled as she walked over to open a window. The colonel needed fresh air to think about how would she deal with the homunculus later. She was worried that he might just attack someone at random. She felt partly responsible for what had happened to Fuery and he didn't even know what the situation was. Havoc didn't know either and he was practically an unsuspecting, walking target. Vi had said something about it being a matter of lust and that he had some intent on using her. For what? She didn't know like some other things she wasn't sure of. Naminé sighed and turned to look at Roy. "Where's my paperwork for the day?"

* * *

After a morning of hard work, lunch came and Roy was guarding Naminé on her way to the café and back. Naminé said she would just buy something and come back to headquarters but the fuhrer didn't want to take the chance of her being attacked or kidnaped. The colonel had gone into the café twelve minutes ago while Roy waited outside. Someone was walking toward the place but he wasn't paying much attention. He was instead looking at his watch, wondering how long does it take to just get something to eat. Mustang only looked up when he noticed the guy had stopped in front of the café's door next to him.

The guy looked at the fuhrer with such malice. When he saw the surprised look on his face, he smirked and took out a hand from his pocket. "You're Roy Mustang, right?"

* * *

Naminé took her take-out bag from the cashier and thanked the person. It felt like she had taken forever but it wasn't completely her fault. The line had several people in it, she didn't know what she wanted right away because the cashier was just throwing options out there, and the wait for food wasted more time than necessary. Just when she was about to join the fuhrer outside, he decided to join her-–through the window. Glass shattered on the floor as Roy slammed into a table near her. Worried and afraid about who did it, she ran over to him. "Are you okay?" Quickly, she brushed the shards of glass off his uniform. The entire time her eyes looked at the broken window, wondering where the culprit went.

Mustang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand. "He caught me off guard," he muttered, taking out his gloves and putting them on. The truth was the guy got Roy in his blind spot, the side where he had lost his eye.

The perpetrator decided to be kind and used the door to finish what he started. His eyes met Naminé's and a grin formed with his lips. "Hey, babe." It was the homunculus naturally, standing in all his glory.

Her face read surprise, anger, and disbelief all at once. "Roy has nothing to do with you!"

The homunculus shrugged his shoulders. "I got bored of waiting for you. And there was nothing else to do."

"So you came here?" No answer was given so Naminé went back to helping the fuhrer onto his feet. Even while doing so, her eyes never left the imitation just to make sure he didn't attack again. He didn't; he had his hands leisurely stuffed into his pockets.

Once Roy was on his feet, Naminé charged at the homunculus. She managed to kick him out the window because he didn't fight back nor defend himself. Then Naminé jumped through the window and unto the pavement. 'Zolf' was already on his feet, glaring at her. Just when she was about to use alchemy, gunshots pierced the air and bullets entered the homunculus' body. Her blue eyes saw Riza behind the man, holding her pistol. Riza wasn't alone—Havoc and Breda was there as well.

"That's the guy that injured my shoulder!" Breda exclaimed.

The homunculus looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell?" The bullets that had entered his skin coming back out. Placing his hands in his pockets, he walked over to them.

Riza started to fire some rounds into him but that didn't help. The guy kept coming and the fact that he wasn't dying confirmed that he wasn't normal. Hoping that he would just keel over, she continued firing, finally wasting an entire clip of ammo. When the gun made that empty-clicking sound, she cursed. Quickly reloading, she prepared to shoot some more, aiming for the vital areas.

'Zolf' didn't know why the hell she kept on shooting. Surely she could see he wasn't dying. He allowed her to continue with her pointless firing because it didn't affect him in any way although it soon became a real pain in the ass. His eyes went passed the two and landed on Havoc. _That guy again, _he thought.

Roy came out of the café, leaving the customers and employees cowering behind the tables and the counter. Naminé may have been behind the homunculus but Mustang could see the look he was giving Havoc. If he didn't act in time, Havoc would have been another victim, a _dead_ victim.

When 'Zolf' moved in toward the group to kill Havoc with an outburst of speed, fire erupted in front of him. The flames stopped him from moving any closer and because of this, he groaned from frustration. The homunculus turned and glared at the Flame Alchemist. "Damn, Mustang. If you wanted to die first, you should have asked." Suddenly, he saw the yellow light that comes from a regular transmutation and looked at where it was coming from. His dark teal eyes saw Naminé, her hands placed on a red transmutation circle. A giant hand came from the ground, slammed him into the street, and continued its way into the sewers below.

Naminé picked up her red lipstick she had used to unfortunately draw the array and stashed it into her pocket. Then she walked over to the hole she created and peered into the darkness. She sighed, remembering how she had discovered that Kimblee was still alive. "Deja vu once again," she muttered. Then she sat, her legs dangling in the hole.

"Hey! What are you–-!" Before Roy could stop her, she jumped into the hole. "Damn!"

* * *

The putrid smell and the uneasy darkness helped her recall what had happened three months ago. Just like how she didn't know where Kimblee had been, she didn't know where the homunculus was either. Naminé snapped her fingers to see where he was. The lightning struck down into the sewage and the brief light helped her see that the homunculus was on the other side. She also saw the hand was destroyed and the only thing left of her transmutation was the arm.

He sighed. "This brings back memories, doesn't it?"

Naminé's blue eyes had already adjusted to the darkness and could barely make out his silhouette. Her fists clenched and unclenched out of her rage for the monster, her hatred boiling beneath the surface. "Don't you dare talk about him."

The homunculus grinned sadistically. "Why? Does it hurt that badly, babe? Just saying his name brings you to tears?" Slowly, he started to move in the sewage toward her, his eyes being able to see her actions. Soon the homunculus was on the same side as Naminé. When he reached out to pull her closer, the Lightning Alchemist moved away.

"No," Naminé corrected. "Calling you by his name." Her blue eyes stared at the floor, an attempt to hide what was going through her mind.

He frowned at that statement and watched Naminé turn her back on him. This was the first time she had done it since they met. After a sigh, he wrapped his arms around her and then kissed her on the neck. There was no struggle or effort to push him off but no indication that she enjoyed it either. In a low voice, he said, "At least I was right about the way I feel about you. I'll see you soon, okay?" Then he released Naminé from his embrace and walked deeper into the sewers, away from where he had entered them.

* * *

"I don't know why you let her jumped in like that," Breda said to Roy. "Are you sure she's all right down there?" They had given her five minutes on the fuhrer's command and so far there had been no sign of her. There was no sign of anything for the matter. Finally there was a noise from below and then a hand came up to grab the edge of the hole. When they saw it was Naminé, they were all content.

Havoc helped her out of the hole and unto the side walk. The soldier saw how she was looking down into the sewers again and became worried. "You're all right?"

Naminé looked up and turned to face him, a tiny smile on her face. "Yeah. I'm fine now."

* * *

When she came home from work, Naminé was ready to face the homunculus. It would be hard to fight someone who can't die but she believed that everything would be fine. However, when she entered the apartment, the colonel realized it was empty. That nervousness was gone and she checked the rooms. Finally, after checking the house and coming back to the living room, she saw the bouquet of chrysanthemums on the living room table and a card that had one word on it: _Sorry_.

_-FLASHBACK-_

It was eight o'clock when Naminé finally heard the apartment door open. She tore her eyes away from the pages of her romance novel and looked up to see who entered her apartment. It was Kimblee and he had something behind his back. "What is that?" she asked as she stood to go see for herself.

The Crimson Alchemist didn't bother answering and just thrust it at her when she came close enough. It was a bouquet of chrysanthemums, a large one at that, and they smelled good. "I stopped by the flower shop on the way here," Kimblee explained when she took the flowers from him. "Just don't make a big deal about it."

She looked down at the bouquet and smiled. "Thank you."

"Glad you like them." He was pleased that he had made her smile because it wasn't something he could do often. Zolf would have smiled as well but then he saw that she had started to cry. His eyebrow rose. "What are you crying for? They're just flowers."

"I'm happy, that's all." She hugged him tightly, almost afraid that if she'd let him go, he would leave her. Her eyes squeezed shut to stop the progression of more tears.

Naminé felt a vulnerability she was not used to having. She knew how love worked: it only made someone more susceptible to get hurt. Her old feelings had quickly matured to what she didn't want at the time, not yet at least. He had spent only a few weeks in her apartment and that had been enough time to reawaken her old feelings and make them stronger. When his arms wrapped around her, Naminé was surprised by the gesture and she looked into his eyes. For once, they didn't look predatory. Instead, they held his affection and care for her.

He stroked her hair with one hand and wiped a tear away with the other. "That's really a stupid reason for crying." Afterward, they didn't say anything for a moment or two. During that time, he was trying to form the words in his head. It was a lot harder to say because it wasn't something he admitted often. It wasn't something he felt often either. Finally, he said, "I love you."

Naminé stared at him, partly in disbelief, partly in happiness. Her eyes wandered to the bouquet and then back to his golden eyes. "I love you, too."

Kimblee came down a bit closer to her face. He hesitated and would have drawn back but he felt her touch on his cheek. Going all the way through with his intention, he kissed on her on the lips.

She dropped the bouquet because she needed both hands. Thinking how long it had been since their last kiss made her cherish that moment because it was Zolf who had started it. They separated, still gazing at the other before Naminé picked up the bouquet. "I should put these in water, right?"

His eyes landed on the bouquet. "Yeah."

"I made dinner not so long ago. You want some?"

"That would be nice."

_- END FLASHBACK-_

She picked up the bouquet and looked at it. _Zolf gave me something just like these, _she thought as she walked over to the kitchen. Naminé was about to reach for a vase when she suddenly changed her mind and threw the bouquet into the garbage.

**A/N: It's keeps getting closer and closer to the end which is several chapters away. Right now, I'm stuck on Chapter 12! It still have time to come to me but nothing has for two weeks now. Anyway, thanks to Evil Palm Tree Envy, Synette, kimimaros-angel, and CorvusCaminus for their reviews.**


	10. Chapter 10: A Date With Havoc

**A/N: Okay. This is really mostly fluff I just did for fun I guess. Doesn't focuses much on the plot. More of a side story. To let you know, I never really wrote any real dating scenes so don't be surprise if the one I wrote sucks.**

**CHAPTER 10—A Date With Havoc:**

"He didn't come back?" Vi's voice exclaimed through the phone.

"Yeah," Naminé said. "It's been two days and no sign of him. I think he's finally gone." It was the couple of days that Naminé was alone in her apartment again and she felt great for once. All the times she felt lonely disappeared out of her daily ritual. The homunculus was out of her life and was no longer her problem. Whoever created him had to deal with the him now.

"Maybe. You never could be sure."

Naminé fell backward onto her bed, still clutching the phone by her ear. With free hand, she reached for Kimblee's pocket watch on the night stand and opened it. This time, when she opened it and looked at the picture, she felt at peace instead of wanting to chuck it. "I know. But while he's gone, I want to be happy. Anyway, I better go. I have to get ready for work."

* * *

"A date with Havoc?" Vato Falman stared at Naminé kind of surprised of what she was requesting. The colonel looked serious but maybe she wasn't, she couldn't be. He decided to check with her once more. "You want me to tell Havoc that?"

"No, no, no, no. I want you to _suggest_ to Havoc to ask me out on a date. That way he will."

None of this was making sense to Falman because he was not used to playing matchmaker. He didn't want to either. "Why don't you just ask him?" He suggested so he could avoid the whole thing himself.

"Because . . . I like it better when the guy comes to me." Before, he could say something else, she left to make him do the job for her.

* * *

Falman stopped at the end of the hallway when he saw Havoc walking down the hallway with Breda. Quickly, he move back around the corner to buy some more time. His assignment would be easier if it was one-on-one. Now he had to get rid of Breda somehow. He began to think about the situation, while listening to what the two men was discussing.

"So I tell her," Breda continued his story, "that she needs to stop thinking I'll give her money for all her shoes, clothes, and jewelry. Then she gets mad at me for cutting her budget."

Havoc sighed. "The only good thing is I don't have to deal with that problem. Roy takes away all the girls I want. Just yesterday I almost had one and then the fuhrer just walks by, smiles, and she was gone! It drives me crazy."

"Uh, what about Naminé? I thought you asked her out."

"It was for lunch and it wasn't that serious."

Falman stopped thinking, paying more attention to what the two were saying. Maybe he didn't have to go in. He could let Breda take care of it. After all, he seemed to be doing a fine job and he himself needed to take care of some paperwork.

"Maybe you should ask her out," Breda suggested. "She might say yes."

"You really think so?" Havoc looked doubtful at the idea. But nobody could know something for sure unless they try and he was going to try to get a date with her. "Alright then. I"ll ask her out and see what happens."

Breda and Havoc rounded the corner and almost bumped into Falman who was just about to leave. "Hi," Falman said, not sure if he had been caught. "I was just about to go to my office."

"Have you seen Naminé?" Havoc asked.

Falman felt pleased that he didn't have to do anything. "No, I'm afraid not. I got to go do some paperwork. I'll see you later. Good luck finding her."

* * *

Someone was knocking on the fuhrer's door. Roy looked up from his own paperwork which had seemed to increase due to his promotion. He didn't believe he would finish on time although the fuhrer must and it was a pain. Someone had picked the wrong time to come to his office. "Come in," he roared.

The door swung opened and Naminé came inside. "Sorry if I caught you at a bad time but I feel that this is important."

Roy raised any eyebrow at her, not believing a word of what she was saying. "What's so important?"

She pretended that she was trying to remember, her way of procrastination. "Um . . . Thank you."

There was a silence before he could say, "That's it? That's all you have to tell me?"

She nodded like that surprised her, too. "Yeah. I wanted to thank you for being a good friend to me. I mean, if you weren't for you a long time ago, I wouldn't have been able to pull myself back together. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated that back then . . . and for what you're doing for me now."

"So you waited this long to say that?" Another minute ticked back, signaling how much closer it was to the deadline.

"I know, I know but lately I hadn't been myself either." She walked around the desk to hug him. "Thanks again, Roy," she said as she embraced him, "for everything." Her arms retreated to her sides and she started to leave the office. "I'll see you later. I heard that Havoc's looking for me." She left the room and bumped into the second lieutenant in the hallway. The Lightning Alchemist crashed into the floor

"Naminé!" Havoc exclaimed as he helped her up. "I didn't see you there."

"I'm fine," she muttered, still sore. "Don't worry about it. Oh yeah, I heard you were looking for me from Falman."

He blushed and looked down at the floor. "I was. Are you busy tonight because maybe I could take you out for dinner?"

Naminé smiled and didn't give an answer right away as if she was considering it. She could see the nervousness on his face like a rejection was coming. Her blue eyes locked on the cigarette. "Just don't smoke around me and I'll go with you."

He blinked several times before saying, "I'll pick you up at eight tonight if that's okay."

"Of course it is."

* * *

"Argh! He'll be here in thirty minutes and my hair isn't done yet and neither is my make up! I need Mel! She's good at make up!" Naminé was running up and down in her room wearing her bath robe, yanking dresses and shoes out of her closet. Lipsticks, mascara, powder, blush, and eye liner all laid scattered on her dresser.

Vi watched from the bed in amusement. "Well, I'm here and she's not. Do you have any black dresses?" She suddenly asked, eyeing the assortment of colors—red, orange, tan, blue, and pink----on the bed. "Black is supposedly sliming and you need it for your belly."

"It's not huge yet," she muttered, but started to pull out all her black dresses anyway. "He said it was formal. Do you think one about knee length is good?"

"Well," Vi started to say. "It can't be too tight. If the dress is not, knee length is good."

"Okay then," Naminé muttered, searching through the pile, "There go almost all my dresses . . . How's this one?" She held up a black dress that was tight at the top but loose and flowing at the bottom. It had a v-neck and it shimmered in the light.

"I think that's fine. Hurry up and put it on so we could get started on your make up."

Naminé got dressed quickly and slipped on some black high heels. She took off the towel turban and all her wet hair fell down. Vi took over and brought the hair away from her face, doing a neat bun. It was simple but it still look good. Then she took two lipsticks on the dresser, a red one and a pink one. Suddenly, she uncapped the new red lipstick and started to apply it on Naminé's lips while Naminé worked on her eyelashes. When the mayhem was over, Naminé looked at herself in the mirror. "I guess I look okay."

"What do you mean 'okay'? You look beautiful. Don't you have any earrings?"

"The only ones are my diamond earrings," Naminé said as she walked over to the end of the dresser and opened her jewelry box. She picked up the pair she was talking about and put them on. "How are they?"

"They're good," Vi said. "Now this guy will be impressed and he'll love to show you off. Don't hold back and flaunt what your mama gave you." The door bell rang and Naminé looked at her watch. It read seven-fifty-five. She looked back at Vi with a nervous expression. "Go," her friend urged. "Go answer your door. You're the one who lives here."

Naminé took in a deep breath, let it out, and walked down the hallway, picking up her purse on the way to answer the door. When she got there and opened it, she saw Havoc dressed in a navy tuxedo. She smiled. "Hi, Jean."

"Hi. You're ready to go?"

"Yeah." Taking one last look over her shoulder at Vi (who was giving her a thumbs up), she left the apartment.

* * *

They went to one of the most expensive restaurants in Central. Roy had given the advice to Havoc that this place would definitely impress her. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Naminé, was indeed, amazed.

"Jean, this is so beautiful!"

The restaurant was. For one thing, it was huge, taking up the entire block it was on. It was built single-floored and into rectangular shape with the center hallow to make an outdoor section with tables and chairs. Burgundy was the color of the carpet and the curtains while a creamy-white covered the tables. To keep to the color scheme, there were burgundy candles on the table lit. The place was almost packed, waiters running left and right. Naminé took in the sight while Havoc checked in for his reservation. Soon they were being led to a table for two. When they got to their table, Havoc pulled out a chair for Naminé to sit. With a smile, Naminé said thank you and sat down.

The waiter who had taken them to their seats handed out the menus he had carried underneath his arm. "What would you like, mademoiselle?"

Naminé studied the menu, noticing the prices. "That depends . . . How much money do you have, Jean?"

"I think enough." In reality, Jean had a feeling it would be over his budget—way over—and that they would end up washing dishes to pay off the debt. In the event this may happen, he had asked Roy for some tips on managing his budget on a date. Roy had said to suggest the cheapest things on the menu and hope they would agree. Also that the lady should never pay . . . and bring a checkbook to avoid that situation because girls get really turned off by a guy that's 'poor'. Havoc had, unfortunately, forgot his.

Naminé arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I don't want to run you dry." When Havoc nodded, she grinned. "Good." Then she turned to the waiter and said, "I would like everything on the right side of the menu except the coffee, tea, and chicken parmesan."

Havoc's mouth dropped opened at her order and figured that he would have nothing after desert. He wondered how much a pregnant woman could eat. It was time to follow Roy's advice.

The waiter turned to Havoc. "And you, monsieur?"

"Uh, what's the cheapest thing that tastes good?"

* * *

Havoc watched Naminé eat. Somehow, she had managed to eat three-quarters of what she had ordered and still going. He, on the other hand, had just finished his lobster and was saving the little room he had left for desert.

Naminé gulped down a shrimp. "This food is great. You know, I never heard of this restaurant before."

"Really?" Havoc asked.

"Yeah. I'm glad you asked me out."

"You're serious?" This time when he talked, he sounded surprised and refrained from jumping up for joy.

She nodded. "I mean it. You really are sweet and cute."

"And you're gorgeous."

"Thanks . . . do you know what they have here for dessert?"

Havoc sweatdropped. "You're still hungry?"

* * *

After dinner, Havoc drove Naminé to her apartment building and up six flights to her home. Naminé opened her purse and took out her keys. Her blue eyes gazed at Havoc. "I had a great time with you, Jean."

"I had a great time with you, too."

She turned toward the door and begun to look through her key ring. Finally, she found her apartment key and used it to unlock the door. "I guess this is it."

"I guess so." The hesitation was driving her crazy and the wait had been to long. Naminé sighed and faced havoc. "Jean?"

"Hm?"

Suddenly, she pulled him by the tux's collar and brought him closer to her so their eyes were almost leveled. Then Naminé kissed him on the lips. He was taken back by the kiss but he was soon kissing her in return, just as hard, just as hungry. Finally, she pulled away with a grin.

Havoc looked away blushing furiously. That had been something all right and he didn't see that coming. "I'll see you tomorrow at work then, huh?"

"Yeah," Naminé said, fixing up his collar. Her fingers left his collar and turned the doorknob. "Bye."

"Bye."

_

* * *

_

-FLASHBACK-

Naminé had gotten out of bed to drink some water. Naturally it wasn't something she'd wake up for but her throat was that dry. She had just finished drinking and placed the glass into the sink. All she had on was this giant tee shirt because she figured Kimblee was sleeping since he went to bed earlier than usual. When she was walking down the hallway, she saw him leaning against the wall casual. Apparently, after hearing her footsteps, Kimblee's golden eyes gazed at her.

"I thought you were sleeping," she muttered as she stopped walking.

Kimblee shrugged and studied her tee shirt. He was wondering if that was all she had on. "I just came out here to get something to drink. They say it's easier to do things when you're drunk."

"What 'things'?" As if she didn't have an idea of her own. In a way, she was hoping she would be wrong about it but instinct was telling her differently. "I don't drink anymore. I got rid of that habit years ago. You know, when you were supposedly dead."

Zolf got off the wall and walked toward her. When he was close enough, his arm wrapped around her. "Forget it."

"Then why bring up drinking?"

"That doesn't matter. I . . ." He had a feeling she was confused about what drinking had to do with anything. To make it easier, he made it less complex for her. "Do you want to spend the night together?" Kimblee asked, his way of not coming off as intimidating.

"Together?" Her face turned bright red at the idea because she lacked experience in that area, lots of it. The fact that her face was buried in his pajama shirt was preventing him from seeing her blush. "You mean make love, right?" She checked, her voice quieter than before.

"Yeah . . . if you want to."

" . . . I want to."

"So you're finally giving up that stupid nun crap of yours?"

Naminé pulled away from him, the crimson still in her cheeks. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"I know you haven't'received' any action your whole entire life," he said bluntly. "I'm just glad you're giving up this fuckin' 'I don't want a man' crap."

She opened her mouth to comment, then paused and closed it shut again. It was better to ignore him which was why she headed back to her bedroom. Before Naminé could walk in though, she was swept off her feet and into his arms. "Zolf?" Her voice was filled of surprise.

"I'm just carrying you to your bed," he explained. Although that was what he said, the carrying part came up short by three feet and the throwing part began. Lucky for him, she landed on the bed. After she stopped bouncing on the bed, he sat next to her.

"You don't know how fortunate you are that I didn't land on the floor," she muttered. Unexpectedly, his arms wrapped around her waist. When she tried to look back at him over her shoulder, their lips collided. Naminé didn't waste any more time. She twisted her body in his arms so she could have better access. Her fingers ran in his hair, her lips parted, her body fell on the bed. Kimblee came down with her, still kissing just as passionately since the collision. Sometime after, he left her lips and got started on her neck.

"Make love to me," she moaned in his ear.

He left her collarbone alone and came face to face. The look in his golden eyes were intense as they stared into her blue ones. Gently, he caressed her cheek, a smirk tugging on his lips. "You don't need to tell me, Naminé," he responded in a low, husky voice.

"Then do it already." Even though she was on her second word, Zolf was already well on his way.

-_END FLASHBACK_-

**A/N: And that's the end of Chapter 10. Yeah, I'm not much of a lemon writer. Anyway, see how much fluff that really was? Synette, CorvusCaminus, and kimimaros-angel: thanks for the reviews as always. Till later.**


	11. Chapter 11: The Return of the Homunculus

**A/N: I switched a lot in this chapter because I was telling two stories at once. One of them focuses on the happenings in Central. The other on the happenings in the south, around the Southern HQ. **

**CHAPTER 11—The Return of the Homunculus:**

-FLASHBACK-

"Flowers?" Kimblee, who was gazing at the small pond, looked back at Vi in disbelief. The two of them were in a park near Southern HQ. He had asked her to come here because he needed advice. Something that would impress Naminé, something that would make her feel good about herself. And Vi had said, as she was saying again,

"Flowers."

His arched an eyebrow. "Who gives a damn about flowers?"

Vi shook her head before glancing at Kimblee. He was cute, she'll give him that much but he seemed dense. Too dense for her friend but she suppose the guy was searching for a way to impress the girl. And Naminé was single as far as she was concerned. "She does. Every girl does."

Kimblee thought about the notion. When was the last time he had bought Naminé flowers? Actually, he had never considered buying her flowers or any other girl for that matter. Looked at his watched to see what time it was. It was pretty late and Naminé was probably waiting for him. He sighed and started to walk away. "I better head home."

Vi blinked at first, thinking about what he had said before squealing with delight.

He stopped and turned around to look at her. He placed his hands nonchalantly into his pockets. Zolf didn't understand why the woman was smiling like something good had happened. "What?"

Still grinning, she stood up. "It's nothing. I have a night shift. So say hi to Naminé when you get 'home.' "

"Yeah. Sure." He walked away from the spot, following the path. He didn't walk much further than ten feet because he heard his name. It belonged to a woman but it wasn't Vi because it was a lot softer. Kimblee looked in the direction it had came from. He saw her sitting on the bench there, her green eyes on him. "Oh. It's you."

-END FLASHBACK-

It was night and the moon was gone from the sky. For once the stars didn't bother shining brightly and the streets were almost deserted. These things was welcomed by the homunculus who was strolling, reading the house numbers. He was looking for one in particularly and then he saw it—house number three-four-seven. He walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell, not really giving a damn about that it was after two in the morning. At first he heard nothing but then there was scuffling and the door opened, revealing a woman standing in the doorway.

"Zolf?" Her green eyes stared at the homunculus before she broke into a grin. "You came back to me." She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.

* * *

In central, Naminé took a large sip of coffee before putting the mug down. She was getting tired but she had to, in her mind, stay up to find what she was looking for. She had a schedule to follow. The day before, which was the day after her date with Havoc and almost three hours ago, was to find books on alchemy that contained things about homunculi. So far, everything had come up dry, each article mention about how they come from failed human transmutations. Nothing had came up about how to get rid of them. Maybe Roy knew something like how they worked and stuff. She eyed the phone and picked it up. Then she dialed his number.

It rung several times before someone grunted, "Who is this?"

"Hi, Roy."

" Naminé . . . Who calls somebody at three in the morning?"

"You can't really blame me. I need your help."

"Can't you wait when you get to work this morning?"

"But I need to know something really important."

"No normal person does this."

"Whatever. Look. I need to know how you kill a homunculus."

"Naminé?"

"Hm?"

"Goodnight."

"Roy!" A click and then nothing from the other end. She sighed and hung up. Her blue eyes looked at the fifteen books scattered on the table. So far, seven of them didn't have what she was looking for. The other eight would probably not have the information either. Still, that didn't stop her from checking them as well.

* * *

Havoc stopped by the colonel's office to check on her the same morning. When he opened the door, he saw Naminé was sleeping on her desk, her head buried in her arms. He walked over and started to gently shake her. "Hey, colonel. You need to get up."

Her head raised up and her blue eyes opened to see Havoc's. "Hello," she said, her drowsiness cloaking her voice thickly.

"I know you might hate me for this, but," he said, dropping some paperwork on the colonel's desk, "the fuhrer told me to give this to you and to tell you they're due at three."

Naminé glanced at the massive pile and put her head back down on to the desk. "I'll take care of it at noon, Havoc. Right now, time to sleep." She closed her eyes and she went back to her dreams.

* * *

Kaili Thomson was the younger sister of Naminé by ten years and lived thirty minutes away from Southern Headquarters. Unlike her sister, she had straight dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. She knew a lot about Naminé even though her sister moved around every time she had a transfer. Kaili really missed her but she suppose having Mel around was almost as good. Still, she wanted to call her and invite her down for a week.

Today, she went out shopping for clothes at this new store that had just opened the same day. She bought several pairs of shoes, leather pants, two miniskirts, and a purse. Usually, she never buys so many things but today she felt happy.

"Kaili!"

She turned around and saw it was Mel. She waved. "Hey!"

Mel had bright orange hair that had this one big wave and wore bangs, except today they were held back by a headband. Part of the trio that Kaili knew and loved, she was the only one who remained back in her home town. When she reached by Kaili, she embraced the girl in a huge hug. "How ya doing?"

"Fine."

Mel's green eyes looked at the shopping bags she was carrying. "You went shopping by yourself for once. Your mom's at home?"

"Yeah."

"Heard from your sister lately?"

"I talked to her the other night. Everything seems kind of hectic in Central but she didn't go into details."

The two stopped at the street corner and eyed the vehicles passing by. The traffic light turned red and the cars in front of them came to a stop. Mel was about to walk on ahead but stopped to look back at Kaili. "You're coming?"

She shook her head. "I better head back home anyway. I'll see you around."

"See ya."

* * *

"Aaaaaiiiiiiiiiieeeeeee!" It was five minutes after three according to the clock, passed the time all her papers were due. She began to speed through them but she seemed to get now because five minutes later she had only finished two out of the stack. Being promoted was okay until they began to expect more from the person. Whoever came up the more-expectations-to-be-met policy with was a jobless moron, a voice said in her mind and she agreed with it. A knock was heard by the door but Naminé's eyes were glued on her paper. Now she knew how Roy felt that day she came in.

"Leave a message and I'll get back to you," she yelled at the person. Despite that, the door opened and Roy walked in, eyes already on the pile of unfinished papers. Was this some rare moment of payback? Didn't he choose the perfect one. "What?" She asked, infuriated by the folder in his hand (she thought it was more work). When the folder was thrown on top of the paper she was working on, she let out a groan. "More work, sir? And I'm sorry these papers aren't done."

"I know you wouldn't finish on time," Roy said. "That's why I told Havoc to tell you that they were due at three. Because if you were late on finishing at three but finished before four, then you would be on time."

" . . . Huh?"

"I lied about the deadline," he simplified so she could understand. The four o'clock deadline was also a lie because it would be the only way she would bring it in on time. In reality, the paperwork was due at five o'clock that afternoon. His dark eyes watched as Naminé opened the folder to see what was inside. "That's the information I know about your question this morning," he explained. "It's what I know from my fight with Bradley."

"Uh, so why did you write it down?"

He ran a hand through his raven hair. "So you would study it on your own time and not on mine, asking me questions I already provided answers to."

"Thanks," Naminé said as she put it aside for the time being. "I'll look at it later."

* * *

Kaili sat on her bed, her journal propped open on her lap. She bit the top of her pen, trying to recall what had happened that day. Absolutely nothing important but she wanted to fill the page that only had the date on the top right corner. She supposed writing that she met Mel that day was something but nothing. Writing about how she felt, that was okay but not really interesting. Her dreams seemed to have more action than the reality she was stuck. Now if she could only remember what she dreamed.

The doorbell rung, interrupting her thoughts. She got up and opened her bedroom door. She just about to run downstairs when she saw her mother heading to answer the door over the banister. Seeing no point to stay there, she headed back into her bedroom and closed herself off.

What was she thinking about? Oh yeah, her journal entry. So far, nothing. She picked up her journal and her pen. Soon after she was sitting on her bed, the pen touching the blank page, waiting for something that was worth writing.

Her pen rose from the paper when she heard voices, which disturbed her concentration. They were loud for some reason and she frowned at that. Her frown deepened when nothing was heard after all that yelling. Curious to see what happened, she left her bedroom and walked down the hallway to see over the bannister.

Below the bannister was a big room that was kind of like the entrance hall. That room connected all the others on the first floor together. The piano was positioned in the corner on some piece of red and silver carpet. The room was usually spotless and always clean. Now there was a red puddle on the floor.

Despite what her mind was screaming, despite the warning bells desperately ringing to be noticed, her body walked down the stairs to get a better look at it. When her feet gently touched the last step of her descent, a voice echoed in the room.

"I remember you used to play the piano. You were amazing at it." That sentence was followed by a piano key being played, the last C at the end.

Kaili turned to see who just said that. She saw it was a guy that looked familiar. Then it dawned on her almost immediately. "You're my sister's boyfriend . . . I thought you were dead."

The guy smirked, tapping another key of the piano. "Funny how things turn out, huh?"

"But . . . "

He looked up now, interested in what the girl had to say. "But what?"

Finally her brown eyes narrowed at the guy. Of course the dead don't come back alive and not those you actually seen in a wake. She had almost believed that but then her eyes caught something—the man's own. "You're not him."

"A perceptive little bitch. I guess your next question is 'who are you really'."

"No. Where's my mother?"

He didn't answer. The man stood up and walked toward the girl slowly, his hands tucked away in his pockets. For every step he took, she managed two quick ones backward. Suddenly, she tried bolting upstairs to get away from him. With a sigh, his arm extended and punctured the wall right in front of the girl. She stopped and looked at him, a petrified look coming into light. He couldn't help smirking. "Hey. I didn't get a chance to answer your question. You wanted to know where your mother is, right? She's in the dining room . . . 'sleeping' I guess you can say. Why don't you come back down here and talk something out? A negotiation perhaps. 'Cause trust me-–-you don't want to end up like your 'dear' mother."

Kaili didn't move right away. Facts were trying to make sense in her head. Her mother was dead. That guy who killed her wasn't human. The idea of her dying would become a reality if she didn't go. If she went, the man would put her to better use (in his case). Only five minutes ago she was hoping for something excited to write about. Now that something did, she wished it hadn't because it was something she didn't need. Reluctantly, she went toward the guy, seeing the arm retracted back to its owner in her peripheral vision.

"Who are you really?" she asked, her hand gliding on the railing. It took her a while to realized that was what he had expected her to say a couple of minutes ago.

The guy grinned, showing his pointy teeth, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. "I'm Corruption, a homunculus."

Kaili didn't say anything but instead just glared at the man. The guy, or homunculus, whatever the hell that was, had killed her mother and she would not forgive him for that. The guy seemed to know the lay out of the house pretty well because he didn't ask her where anything was but headed toward the kitchen like that was what he wanted.

Corruption eyed the phone before walking over to it, dragging Naminé's sister along with him. He picked it up and dialed the number to the Naminé's apartment. It started to ring and his grin turned into a satisfied smirk. He handed out the phone to the girl. "You want to talk to your sister?"

* * *

Naminé that night was hanging with Vi. The two of them was researching about homunculi in order to deal with their own. So far, Roy's information had mentioned how they needed the remains of whom the homunculus was suppose to be. Using some of Vi's father's old notes, they discovered that a homunculus eats red stones to give it a human shape and could be used to regenerate. However, the ability could only go on for so long based on the limitations and how much had been devoured.

"This explains a lot," Naminé muttered as she finally closed a book. "But how are we sure that not all of his remains had been used? If they all were, then he can't really die that easily."

Vi sighed and took another book. "You look tired."

"Don't worry about it."

The phone rang and Naminé got up, causing the chair to make a squeaking sound against the floor. She walked over to the table where the phone was perched and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hi, sis." The voice on the line belonged to her younger sister except the anger and fear wasn't masked.

Her eyebrow's furrowed at the tone of her voice. "What's wrong?"

" . . . Mom's dead but I'm okay."

Before Naminé could say anything, she heard the phone make a sound as if it was being shifted or passed on to someone else. Then a new, masculine voice drawled into her ear. "Hey, babe. I haven't seen you for a few days now. How have you been?"

"You!"

"Of course it's me. Who else was you expecting? Your dead mother or your dead ex-boyfriend or the dead mad bomber? Let's be realistic here. You know, while I still have your sister so dangerously close to me."

The Lightning Alchemist could just see him leering down at her sister with a grin of false reassurance that everything was alright, that no harm could come to her. Thought it was just her mental picture of the scene, she had the urge to scream liar like it was happening. Nevertheless, she held it in and said, "Don't touch her."

The voice sounded surprised at the order. "Don't touch her?" There was an airy laugh followed after that. "Since when have I listened to you?" To prove his point, a muffled scream was heard in the background.

Naminé felt her inside twisted, partly due to the scream, partly of his using the line Kimblee had when they fought in the sewers. "Just don't hurt her."

The homunculus's sigh was heard through the phone. "I can't exactly promise that. See, there's nothing pure about me and if you take too long to come, she might soon see her mother again. "

There was a silence while Naminé realized what he was hinting. She bit her bottom lip before saying, "How long do I have to get there"

Silence filled the phone as he apparently thought it over. " . . . Five days and come alone. We'll be in that old warehouse waiting for you."

"What old—?"

"You know the one. To refresh your sweet memory, it's the place where you caught those thugs on your first military assignment with Kimblee and Romberg. Good when you were all friends, wasn't it?"

Naminé repressed her anger and kept herself level-headed. "I'll see you in five days."

"Any longer than that and I'll kill her. I'm glad we made this negotiation."

"What negotiation?"

He chuckled. "You for her, of course. You think I would just hand her over? I'll see you then, my love."

Before he could hang up on her, Naminé slammed the phone, frustrated and angry. How could she be an idiot? Like he would just up and go and leave her be. She wished she could have seen that coming because he had one on her and she had nothing . . . almost nothing. She picked up the phone and started to dial a number.

"That was him, wasn't it?" Vi asked.

Naminé nodded and heard the phone ring. "He has Kaili."

"That's not good."

The phone had rang four times and still no answer. She was just going to hang up and try again tomorrow when a familiar voice was heard on the line. "Hello?"

**A/N: Why I named him Corruption: I wanted something that technically meant evil or to taint. So I used the thesaurus and corrupt came up. From there, I used the noun form of the word. Anyway, school's starts tomorrow for me. I wish it didn't. It takes time away from writing Chapter 12. Yep, I've got writer's block on that. Besides that, thanks to the following people who reviewed: Synette, CorvusCaminus, and kimimaros-angel. Till later.**


	12. Chapter 12: The Creator of Corruption

**A/N: Yeah, how long has it been? Almost a month! I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I didn't mean for the wait to be so long. With school and homework and other story ideas (original ones, not fanfics) popping into mind, I got, well, sidetracked/busy. If it wasn't for that wake up call that Evil Palm Tree Envy gave me, then I guess I wouldn't have gotten this done so soon. So thanks to Evil Palm Tree Envy. Enjoy (hopefully it would be better than the last one–---to me, looking back, that one wasn't too great).**

**CHAPTER 12—The Creator of Corruption:**

A few days passed, four to be exact, and Naminé was had felt she was ready to come face to face with the homunculus. She stood outside the warehouse in the pouring rain, the thunder booming loudly in the background, and the sky a dark gray. Mel and Vi stood with her, soaked to the skin, ready to jump into the fight if they had to. For now, they were out only because of their friend's wishes.

"Are you sure about this?" Vi said.

Naminé took a deep breath and nodded. She reached into her pants pocket and took out her military pocket watch. Then she opened it and examined the lock of dark hair. "I hope this works." She believed hair to be the best thing to get out of Kimblee's grave. She had called Mel some nights before to do the job but she had declined the offer. Mel had said she didn't like touching corpses. Naminé had to come earlier than she had intended to come do the job herself. When she was about to do it, Vi took over the job, not wanting to ruin Naminé's memories of him. Naminé supposed it had been for the best.

"Don't be reckless," Mel said. "That's my little future godchild you're carrying."

"I know," she muttered, wondering when the arrangement had been made. But Mel was right about the first part. Naminé would be holding back and that would put her to a disadvantage. The lightning flashed in the sky, reminding her of why the trees around their small group weren't so good. "Mel, when Kaili gets out here, take her some where safe. Vi, draw the transmutation circle inside the door way as big as possible. I guess that's it. I'll see you guys later." Naminé inhaled deeply before breathing out. Then she walked into the warehouse.

"You think she'll be alright?" Mel asked.

"She better," Vi muttered.

* * *

Naminé walked very slowly, studying her surroundings, hoping her senses would pick up anything that could be a danger. The warehouse was filled with old wooden crates, stacked high in some sort of arrangements. Finally she came to an area where no crates were. Immediately, she noticed Kaili on a chair resting against a crate, bound and gagged. "Kaili?"

Kaili looked up from the floor and saw her sister. The chair hopped with her as she tried to say something. Unfortunately the gag prevented her words from being comprehensive.

"Hold on." She rushed over and started to unbind the ropes that secured her sister's hands and feet to the chair. Not sure when the homunculus would come back, she tried to work as fast as she could. Although the speed she was working on was good, two minutes passed and Naminé was still working on her hands. "Damn," she cursed under her breath. "This is taking too long."

"Use alchemy," a voice drawled behind the alchemist. "It tends to work faster."

Naminé looked over her shoulder and saw the homunculus watching her, his eyes having a glint of humor in them. He was leaning against a wall of crates casually until he decided to approached the female. His arm turned into a blade-like weapon and cut the ropes himself, seeing how long Naminé was taking to do it herself.

Kaili stood and stared at her sister, not sure what she should do. Her hazel eyes switched over to the homunculus, seeing the look he was giving Naminé.

"Kaili," the alchemist said. "Leave now."

"Are you---"

"Just go. I'll be fine." Her blue eyes met hazel ones. Kaili didn't move at first, surprised by her sister's demand. However, because it came from her sister, Kaili felt like she had to. So she left the area from the place her sister had came into it.

The homunculus didn't feel right. Not like he sensed something wrong but his body felt weaker. He was fine minutes ago but now that Naminé was so close to him, he felt like his energy had been drained.

* * *

"Vi!" Kaili exclaimed when she saw the half Ishbalan drawing something . . . at a time like this. She quirked an eyebrow as she stared at the woman. "What are you drawing?"

"A transmutation circle for Naminé," Vi explained as she continued. She kept screwing up on the two circles, one inside of the other. Either they had turned into ovals or they were lumpy. After a few minutes, she started to draw a star very slowly. Kaili walked outside into the rain, trying to avoid messing up the array. "After I'm done, we'll go."

"Are you serious?" Mel exclaimed. "What if she . . ." Her voice trailed off, leaving the others to use their imaginations.

Vi sighed. "Don't talk that way . . . Actually, I'll draw another array further inside the place as a back up. Then we'll leave."

* * *

"How have you been?" Corruption asked.

"Okay." She clapped her hands as she stood up and faced the homunculus. She could feel the shape of the pocket watch against her thigh as a reminder it was there. It would be used later. Naminé's mind wondered to whether Vi was done. She didn't want to make her move to early and allowed her hands to drop by her sides.

"You're going to attack me?" Corruption's teal eyes stared at the woman, not knowing any other purposes for her action.

"Nope." She shoved her hands into her pockets and attempted to walk around him. But he stopped her by a raise of his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She sighed before her blue eyes gazed at the imitation, not sure of the answer herself. Naminé wasn't even sure to head to where the transmutation circle was supposed to be. How much longer did she have to wait? For awhile, she was oblivious of the look on his face but now that all the pondering was over, she could see a troubled expression, like he didn't feel right. "Something wrong?" Immediately, she pulled away from his outstretched limb.

The homunculus didn't say anything but instead grabbed her by the arm to study her eyes. Naminé clapped her hands a second time and grabbed the homunculus' arm in return. He backed off, releasing his hold on her. Without hesitating, she took off running as fast as she could. Her pace wasn't as fast as it used to be several weeks ago. Thanks to the additional weight the last two months had brought her. Naminé's eyes saw a transmutation carved into the ground ahead of her. She stopped to stare at the array. Kimblee had made it ten years ago to transmute a weapon when they had their first mission. She couldn't remember what it was but it had been useful. After glancing behind her to see no one, she clapped her hands and placed them on the array. Suddenly, a long, bronze spear came out of the array, the light still shining as it did so. Light . . . Damn.

Naminé had finished the transmutation when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned whirled around and saw his arm/blade raised in the air preparing to come crashing down. Her eyes squeezed shut as she raised the spear as a shield. The clanging sound they made when they met caused her to open one blue eye to see what was going on. The spear she was holding horizontally formed an 'X' with his blade. Both eyes opened wide when she saw that the spear was cracking. The moment it broke in two she rolled out of the way to avoid being slashed. The homunculus barely missed her. Quickly, the woman lunged at him with the spear in her left hand. Simultaneously, he raised his arm again to cut her.

Naminé winced when she felt the pain in her shoulder in her left shoulder. His blade was deep in her flesh which was the main cause of the agony. The pain also came from the position her arm was in, the spear in his heart. She maneuvered her shoulder to get the blade out and yanked the spear out. The homunculus fell down and she immediately crawled over to see his chest. The wound she had inflicted was already healing. Before it could finish though, she stabbed him again. And again and again. She wasn't sure how many lives he had left. All she was thinking about was him lying there for good. After stabbing at least a dozen times, she stopped to look at the wound. Surprisingly it was still healing. Her clutch on the spear tightened with frustration. Just when she was about to stab him again, someone spoke to her.

"What are you doing?"

Naminé stopped in midair and looked up to see a familiar blonde. The woman was wearing a blue military skirt and a white blouse that was tucked in. Her long hair was cut short now, not even touching her shoulders and parted on the side. Her green eyes stared down at the alchemist with contempt.

"Isabelle?" Suddenly, she felt a grip on her wrist and her eyes stared downward, seeing that the homunculus was awake. Or technically alive again. Soon she flung into the air.

Isabelle watched as Naminé fell, coming back down to the ground at least five feet from where she was before. Not willing to allow the baby to get injured from the fall, she clapped her hands and placed them on the wall behind her. There was a blue light as five narrow, spikes came shooting out from the wall.

The Lightning Alchemist winced in pain, not willing to scream. The most she allowed herself to do was grit her teeth. Two of the spikes had went through her shoulders, one for each; another two had punctured through the palms of her hands, preventing her from using any alchemy; the last one stopped tauntingly against her belly. "You . . . you fuckin' bitch!"

Isabelle sighed as she helped the homunculus up. "Since when did you become so violent? Makes me wonder why he loved you more than me."

_-FLASHBACK-_

Kimblee stopped walking because he had finally seen her. He had wanted to leave the park now but the unexpected guest was keeping him back. "Oh. It's you."

Isabelle ran toward Zolf and hugged him. "Zolf! You're really alive!"

Kimblee raised an eyebrow, surprised that someone was happy to see him alive. When the soldiers in Laboratory Five saw him, they were in disbelief. When Naminé saw him, she tried to kill him. When Armstrong saw him, he was shocked. He was expecting something along those lines but no, she had decided to embrace him.

Isabelle pulled away to look into his eyes. "I'm so glad to see you again. I thought that I wouldn't. Do you remember my name?"

The Crimson Alchemist nodded very slowly, trying to think while doing so. "Of course I do." He stopped there, trying to look away from her persistant gaze. The face was familiar, he remembered talking to the person, he forgot the name.

She sighed and looked down at the ground. "But you remembered Naminé's, didn't you?"

"Not right away," he lied. During the last seven to eight years, he had tried to entertain himself with memories. Naturally, most of his early childhood was a blur and there was nothing too interesting in his teen years. He supposed his military days were interesting enough because that was when he blew up people, messed around with several girls, and blew up some more people. Naminé went somewhere under 'Military Days', so he thought about her as often as seven years would allow. Then there was a time he slept with a girl named Isabelle because he got so drunk and she got drunk and one thing led to another. "Isabelle."

She looked up. "What?"

"That's your name, right?"

The woman smiled. "I'm glad you remembered."

"Nice seeing you. I better go before the flower shop closes."

"Flowers? Since when have you ever bought flowers?"

Zolf shrugged, not in the mood of explaining himself or his actions. He wanted to go. He wanted to at least do something nice for his girlfriend, if he could called her that. His golden eyes looked at her hand and saw a ring on her finger. "You've gotten married."

Her eyes glanced down as if she didn't remember the ring. When Isabelle saw it, she nodded in agreement with his statement. "Yeah, I did. I wouldn't have if I'd known you were still alive." Suddenly she looked up tentatively, the look in her eyes intense. "You're taken?"

" . . . You're considering an affair."

"I want to be with the man I love."

Kimblee sighed. Women had been always complicated because, well, they complicated things. To him, they make the biggest deal out of nothing. "And I'm with the woman I . . . care a lot for."

"Naminé?"

Zolf sighed again before nodding his head. He started to walk passed the heartbroken woman. "Bye."

_-END FLASHBACK-_

Isabelle looked up at Naminé, no expression on her face at first but suddenly she smiled. "You don't know how lucky are."

Naminé's blue eyes narrowed at her. "I don't get what you mean."

"You're the one with his child. That's why I can't kill you. But when the baby's born, I'll kill you then and raise the baby as my own." Isabelle looked at the homunculus thoughtfully before approaching the alchemist. She slipped her hand into Naminé's pocket and pulled out the pocket watch. Out of curiosity, she opened it. "Hair?" Her green eyes stared at it, an incredulous look etched on her face. Soon the expression became thoughtful and she looked back at the homunculus. She shook her head as she threw the pocket watch as far as she could. It bounced off the wall and hit the floor with a clank.

"You were going to take my love away. I sacrificed too much for him."

Naminé's eyes trailed down the blood running down her arm and felt a bit light headed. She couldn't active the tattoo on her back. Either the witch was going to let her die there or was waiting for her to fall unconscious. "It's your fault. If you didn't want to lose anything in the first place---"

"No! I was willing to sacrifice anything for his return! You, on the other hand, didn't give a shit about him, already going out with other men. You used him for whatever your sick reasons were."

Naminé allowed her head to fall forward so that her chin touched her chest. Her eyes looked down at the ground, her blood beneath her. Suddenly she chuckled airily. "But he still wanted me." She loved Kimblee, she knew that but couldn't explain why she had said that. Maybe she knew that Isabelle would have been riled up by this. Isabelle was already clenching her fist.

Isabelle stomped away from a suspended Naminé and walked over to the homunculus. "I wait until you fall unconscious from losing too much blood." She embraced the imitation and gazed up at it. "Zolf, what should we do in the mean time?" He nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and wrapped his arms around her. One hand untucked the back of her blouse so it could slip underneath.

Naminé watched as the homunculus kissed Isabelle on the neck. Her eyes had a glaze to it when she remembered when Zolf had done the same to her and worked his way down. Just remembering had a nostalgic effect on her. Her body suddenly ached for his touch and his only, no longer willing to go for a substitute. However, she knew that the feeling he had given her could no longer be felt.

She woke back up in this world surprised to see how much she had missed. Naminé couldn't believe that they were doing that in front of her. Their kissing was slowly creeping into a different direction now. She had never really watched two people go at it before, partly because it wasn't her concern.

All of a sudden, when the homunculus was back at Isabelle's neck, kissing it affectionately, he looked at Naminé from the corner of his eye. Their eyes met for a second and it sent chills down her spine. Her heart started to pound against her chest as an ominous feeling crept over her. Why did she feel something bad was about to happen?

"Zolf," Isabelle moaned softly in delight, her fingers running through his hair. His touch was having some magical effect on her. She was feeling real good about this. Sacrificing her husband for this had been a good choice, a great choice. This was all she wanted. To at least feel what Naminé had with Zolf.

A moment passed. Then a second. Another did before Naminé realized what had happened. Naminé's eyes opened wide from shock. There had been a gasp from Isabelle but that was all. Blood was seeping through her blouse, staining the white fabric. The alchemist had no doubts that death had been instantaneous.

The homunculus slipped his hand from underneath Isabelle's blouse, allowing her to drop to the floor. "Don't worry. I promise she didn't die painfully. I went straight through the heart." He walked to where Naminé was dangling a few feet above the ground. He studied her body before breaking the spikes that suspended her. Naminé fell hard to the floor, the four spikes still in her. The fifth one, the one that had been poking tauntingly at her belly, came down. With a swift flick of the wrist, Corruption caught it and afterward chucked it away from them. He wasn't going to allow her to have another weapon this time. "I want to talk to you about something, babe."

Naminé blinked, her eyelids feeling heavy. She wasn't sure how long she would be conscious for. But did that even matter in the situation she was in?

**A/N: Why Isabelle? Hm . . . I wanted a character that would want to bring Zolf J. Kimblee back to life. It wouldn't make too much sense to introduce a character you'll never heard of. That would lead to some confusion and I would have to go into a whole background kind of thing and the chapter would have been longer than it is now. Anyway, thanks for the reviews: Evil Palm Tree Envy and Synette. I want to thank all the unknown readers who had read this story this far. Next chapter, I believe, will probably be the last. Till then.**


	13. Chapter 13: The End and a New Beginning

**A/N: This chapter. The final chapter. I'm semi-glad that I finished it. It's kind of angsty I guess. To see the end of this story makes me feel so sad. This might be one of the best stories I've written so far and I'm glad for the reviews that I've gotten for this story. So here's it is. Enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 13—The End . . . And a New Beginning:**

_-FLASHBACK-_

Kimblee lied on his bed while Naminé sat on the foot of it. She had come in to keep him company. This made things a little easier for him. He had decided to tell her what Archer's orders were for him. He had to go into Lior and cause the civilians to retaliate.

"Tomorrow I'm going to go make some fireworks in Lior. You can come and watch."

Naminé turned around and glared at him. "You haven't changed at all and Archer is just encouraging your behavior."

"Your point?"

"Argh! Don't you care about the innocent people you might kill?!"

He stared at her before shaking his head nonchalantly. Zolf earned a murderous glare from her but he shrugged it off. "You were the same in Ishbal," he noted out loud.

"Unlike you, I have my morals."

Zolf snorted but didn't say anything. As much as he would like to retort, Zolf thought it would be best to allow her to calm down. After two minutes of complete silence, he tried again, this time a little more gentle. "Naminé?" She looked back at him, meeting his golden eyes. "Sorry."

Naminé crawled over on the bed to him and lied down beside Zolf. "I'm sorry, too," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "But . . . I still don't want you to go."

Their eyes met, blue to gold, before Kimblee was on top of her. "What could happen?" He asked as his face drew closer to hers before they kissed.

_-END FLASHBACK-_

Corruption knelt down beside her and studied the look in her eyes. She was only semiconscious now. "You know," he said, his hand passing by the side of her cheek, "I'm surprised that you tried to kill me." Casually, he yanked a spike from her body and threw it aside. Then he pulled out another after that. "Too bad you didn't do so well." He ripped a third one out of her.

Naminé felt like her body was heavy and her vision slipping out of focus before fixing itself. She could hear his voice and smell the scent that came from him. She had felt his touch against her skin. Now she could feel the spikes being taken out of her body—barely.

Corruption's dark teal eyes examined her body, perverted thoughts running through his mind. He came down over her face and brush his lips against hers. His eyes focused on her parted lips before shoving his tongue between them. He pulled away slowly and reluctantly. "Now you want to die? At least give me one moan before you do." His hand slid to her thigh. Then it moved upward to the waist of her pants. His hand slipped under the waistband and into her underwear. He thought he had heard a slight gasp. "That's it? I know you're capable of more than that."

"PIG!" Someone yelled.

The homunculus looked and saw a stone hand coming for him. Soon it had him in its grasped and hit the wall.

Vi came out from behind the crates and pulled Naminé from underneath the stone arm. "Are you okay?" She asked while gently patting the side of her cheek to wake her up. It took her a while to realize all the blood on her clothes. "Oh shit," she said, mostly to herself. "Hang in there a bit longer. I wish I had brought Mel back with me."

After a minute of struggling in the stony grasp, Corruption broke free. The fragments fell unto the ground. With an extension of his arm and a swing, the stone arm broke and crumbled into smaller bits. For the heck of it, he cracked his neck. The homunculus grinned when he saw who was responsible for that transmutation. "This must be the first time we've come face to face. Vi, right?" He started to move closer to the two women.

Vi quickly but gently put Naminé on the floor. Then she started to draw the simplest array she could think of. Once down, Vi clapped and placed her hand on the array. There was a yellow light before another stone arm shot out of the ground.

Corruption's arm turned into a blade and easily destroyed it. "Come on. You think I'll be that easily fooled again?"

Vi's red eyes opened wide from the shock before she tried another transmutation. The second stone arm was destroyed as well and he kept coming closer. She stood up, having a strong feeling that the attack was pointless now. She started to move away from Naminé's body. Vi noticed that the homunculus' teal eyes were following each of her movements. _I'll give you some time to recuperate, Naminé, _she thought. _I'll buy you some time because I know you want to finish the job. _Suddenly she made a run for it.

At first, the homunculus didn't move. He wanted to kill the woman but he didn't want to leave Naminé alone. Corruption wasn't finished with her yet. However, his mind was sure Naminé wouldn't wake up any time soon. So he went deeper into the warehouse after Vi.

* * *

Naminé's blue eyes snapped open. She thought she had heard a scream. As reluctant as her body was, she managed to sit up. Her whole body was sore but she felt a bit better than she did before. She wished she knew how long she had been knocked out because the homunculus was gone. Her head turned and she saw the pocket watch in the corner. Naminé began to crawl her way over to the pocket watch. Along the way, her hand passed on some chalk. She frowned at this and gazed down. It was then she saw the transmutation. She looked around to see what had happened. The Lightning Alchemist saw chunks of stone lying on the ground and some crates had been destroyed. _Who could be here now? They're not supposed to be._

By the time her hand grabbed the pocket watch, she heard footsteps returning to where she was. The footsteps slowly came, one after the other, echoing. Naminé forced herself to stand up but found herself leaning against the wall for support.

Suddenly a body was thrown out into the open before the homunculus was visible. He looked down at the body before turning to face her.

She didn't notice the look in his eyes. Her bottom lip was quivering from fear from the possible truth. " . . . Vi?" Already, Naminé could feel tears rolling down her cheeks although her mind was steadily denying it. It was just too much to take in. "Vi!" She found herself yelling, hoping she would answer but there was no response.

"She's dead," the homunculus grinned. "She's in what I call an eternal slumber. It's a pity she's not going to wake up."

Her grip on her pocket watch tightened as she silently cried. Her shoulders moved with each whimper. She slid down the wall, her head hanging low, her face scrunched up. _Why this? Anything but this would have been better! Am I the one to blame for this?!_

Corruption's eyes flickered as his grin widened, revealing his pointy teeth. "'You let them live and eventually they come back to kill you.' Wasn't that one of Kimblee's reasons why he killed?"

"Shut up! You don't know him! You're not him!"

The homunculus let out a laugh. "I know that. I'm Corruption, an imitation of the Zolf J. Kimblee that you and everyone else around you knew. Aren't you glad?" His hand changed into a blade again as he approached Naminé. "That you get to see his face one last time?"

He now stood in front of her before he knelt to be eye level with her. The woman was refusing to look into his eyes and this ticked him off. "Look at me, babe . . . Look!" The blade pierced the wall beside Naminé's head, causing her to gaze at him. Corruption smirked when he saw the tear-stricken face. "When you see your beloved, tell him I say hello." With that, he kissed her on the lips gently. His other hand turned into a blade and aimed it for her stomach. Then he thrust it at her.

Naminé felt blood trickled down the back of her hand as a second hole was made there. The homunculus had not only pierced through her hand, but also the pocket watch containing Kimblee's lock of hair.

"You . . . bitch," Corruption managed to say. His face wore an expression of horror and shock from the instant he had touched it.

The thunder rumbled outside again.

Naminé closed her blue eyes. There was no rush; she knew the homunculus couldn't move because of the paralysis. Suddenly, they were open again and she stood up, almost falling down. Then the Lightning Alchemist clapped her hands and placed it on his shoulders.

The rain pelted the window as she felt more tears rolling down her cheeks.

"There was . . . a time that I wished I had died with him . . . but now I know I can't because . . . because it wouldn't be fair to our child." Her hands had been tingling for a minute but they were ready to send the charge through his body. The voltage ran through the homunculus's body, twenty times more than the lethal amount it would take to kill a human.

_

* * *

_

-FLASHBACK-

The room was dark when she woke up in the bed that Kimblee had been sleeping in the last couple of days. It was so dark probably because it was about after three in the morning. Her eyes adjusted to the lack of light and made out Zolf sitting on the bed, putting on his boots. "Zolf?" She sat up, clutching the sheets against her bare chest. "Where are you going now?"

He looked back at her. "To Lior."

"I'm . . . still worried about you going. You might be---"

Kimblee placed his finger on her lips. When he was sure Naminé wasn't going to say anything, his finger moved away from her lips. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you later this morning. I promise."

" . . . Maybe I should go with you."

Kimblee shook his head. "Don't bother. Just go back to sleep, babe." He then kissed her on the cheek and was about to pull away when her arms laced around his neck.

"Don't leave," Naminé whispered, "At least not yet." She kissed him on the lips. Soon she felt his hands on her waist which began to move on to explore the rest of her body.

Weeks ago, when he had first touched her, she had believed he was thinking about blowing her up. Time had built a trust between them. That was why, despite the feelings in her heart, she believed him when he said:

"I'll see you later." He took out his silver pocket watch and handed it to her. "Hold this for me till I get back."

"Okay," she said quietly.

"I love you."

" . . . I love you, too, Zolf." She watched as he headed for the door. His hand gripped the door knob and then-—

Kimblee looked back. "Bye." He walked out the door and started his journey to Lior for an encounter he was expecting.

_-END FLASHBACK-_

"Hi, Zolf," Naminé said to a grave labeled 'Zolf J. Kimblee'. She was dressed in all black, She had on a black dress that stopped just above her knees and a black hat with a veil that fell over her eyes. A chrysanthemum was held in her hand.

"You probably weren't expecting me to come here. But I had to come by to talk.

"I just came from Vi's funeral. It was big. A lot of my childhood friends were there. I didn't know if I wanted to go. I wasn't quite so sure if I can handle another death like yours.

" . . . Maybe you didn't know it then, but I am pregnant. Then there was this fight against a homunculus that looked a lot like you. I lost a lot of blood during that fight and I was worried about our child . . . But the baby's okay. I guess it was luck that we didn't die there in the warehouse . . . we're doing a lot better now.

"I don't know how to move on from this point. I think it's best, for a while, if I just don't see anyone that I could fall in love with. I still think of you on a daily basis. I suppose it's only natural that I do. However, I can't move on till I get my life straight again. And that might take some time. So . . ."

Naminé stared at the grave for a minute in thought and reminiscence. Then she laid the flower down in front of it. "I'll hopefully come back soon, maybe with the baby by that time. Goodbye, Zolf."

"Oh," Kaili said. "There she is, Mel." The two of them were dressed in black as well. They had been among those who attended the funeral. Her mother's had taken place yesterday, one that surprisingly Naminé had offered to go to. She had cried at that one but not at Vi's. Maybe it was because she wasn't as close to Vi as Mel and Naminé were.

Mel, whose eyes were red from crying, looked up. She wiped away the tears again. She didn't want her friend to see her like this.

Naminé soon reached them with a tiny, sad smile on her face.

"You're ready?" Mel asked, not wanting to rush her.

Naminé looked back before looking forward again. "Yeah."

**A/N: And the story concludes here. Thanks for the reviews last chapter: Evil Palm Tree Envy, Synette, kimimaros-angel, and CorvusCaminus. I also want to thank those who put me on their alert list (Articfoxx, Synette, Darkfire75, crimson-nightwind) and their favorites (Articfoxx, Aoshi on Speed, Evil Palm Tree Envy, kimimaros-angel) through the course of this story. Writing this story and finishing it had made me extremely proud of myself. This is the second story I've finished and I'm glad for all the support I have gotten for it since the beginning. I don't know when I'll write another Fanfic though. I currently have a story on FictionPress that I hope to finish as well. In this case, till the next story.**


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